Stormzy lands guest role in new Noughts + Crosses TV series

The rapper will appear in one episode of the six-part series, playing a newspaper editor called Kolawale, who was written in for the TV adaptation.

Currently in production in South Africa, the BBC reported that Stormzy said being involved in the series is a "dream come true", and revealed he is "a diehard fan" of the novels by his "childhood hero" Malorie Blackman.

Noughts + Crosses was first released in 2001, and presents a dystopian world divided by race, with black people, classed as "Crosses", ruling over white people, who are the "Noughts".

It's also the first in a series of novels. Four have been released already, with the fifth to arrive this summer.

Earlier this month Stormzy launched his #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize competition through his publishing imprint collaboration with Penguin. The competition will narrow down submitted writings of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry through a panel, before announcing the winner on 6 June. Applications are open until 12 April.