Eddie Izzard writing remake of Sidney Poitier film

The cross-dressing comedian Eddie Izzard is writing the script for a film about a heterosexual drag queen in which he will star.

The Dressed To Kill star is basing the premise on the classic 1963 Sidney Poitier film Lilies of the Field.

“Just as that film isn’t really about a black man, this story won’t be about a transvestite, but rather about a clash of cultures,” he tells Daily Variety.

Izzard, who is currently starring on Broadway in the play A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg, says of his standup act and stage role: “They’re in separate bags. I can do the transvestism in my act, but what roles would I get if I walked into a producer’s office dressed as a transvestite?”

Nevertheless, he says, straight men who like to dress up in women’s clothes could be the next big thing in showbusiness. “There are loads of them just waiting to come out!” he tells Variety.