Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson set to star in ‘The Great Escaper’

The 87-year-old actor will star opposite the ‘A Touch of Class’ star, 84, in the upcoming biographical drama, which is set to be presented at this year’s Berlin Film Market by Pathé.

‘The Great Escaper’ will tell the true story of octogenarian Bernard Jordan (Caine), who staged a “great escape” from his care home to attend the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Landings in Normandy, France, back in 2014.

Alongside Caine, Jackson will star as Bernard’s wife of 60 years, Irene.

The film will be directed by BAFTA nominee Oliver Parker from a script by BAFTA nominee William Ivory and is scheduled to start principal photography in June this year.

In a statement, Parker said: “No one can resist a script that makes people both laugh and cry – I loved Billy’s writing and the story itself, so inspirational and so moving, seemed to speak to our times and our need for heroes on a human scale, whether people like Bernard Jordan or our doctors and nurses. And now to have Michael and Glenda - two iconic actors - agree to honour this story with their brilliance, it’s the cherry on the cake!”

‘The Great Escaper’ will be produced by BAFTA nominees Robert Bernstein and Douglas Rae and is an Ecosse Films production for Pathé, BBC Film and Ingenious Media.

Executive Producers are Cameron McCracken and Jenny Borgars for Pathé, Rose Garnett for BBC Film, and Andrea Scarso for Ingenious.

Pathé will distribute the film in the UK, France and Switzerland and will handle sales throughout the rest of the world.

As of the time of writing, no further casting announcements have been made, and there is no release date in place for the feature.