- Contributed

Bangshowbiz:

P. Diddy is to star in a United States TV adaptation of classic play A Raisin in the Sun.

The rapper - real name Sean Combs - is set to play Walter Lee Younger in the three-hour movie. Diddy has already played the role to great critical acclaim in a Broadway stage version.

The play follows a black working-class Chicago family in the '50s as they try to work their way out of poverty while living in a racist society.

The rest of the award-winning Broadway cast - Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald, Sanaa Lathan and John Stamos - will also reprise their roles for the TV version.

The movie is due to air on U.S. TV network ABC next February, in a prized viewing slot the evening after the 2008 Oscars ceremony.

Diddy's previous forays into acting include a part in 2001 crime caper Made and a small but pivotal role opposite Halle Berry in Monster's Ball the same year.

A Raisin in the Sun was written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959. It was the first play written by an African American ever to be shown on Broadway and opened with Sidney Poitier in the lead role.