Hilary Swank - Hilary Swank To Star In Bbc Malaria Movie

The Million Dollar Baby actress will star opposite British veteran Brenda Blethyn in Mary & Martha, which is written by Four Weddings and a Funeral moviemaker Richard Curtis.

The acclaimed stars will play two mums whose sons die of the killer mosquito-borne disease while they are in Africa, and will highlight the perils of malaria in the run-up to Britain's Comic Relief charity drive, which helps impoverished third world children.

Curtis says, "I've always wanted to write a film about the fact that when you have children, there's always the possibility of extreme joy and extreme sorrow. And over the years working with Comic Relief, I have come across the tragedy of the startling number of lives taken by malaria every year.

"This film gives me a chance to write about that too - as well as working with a team of people I hugely admire - Brenda Blethyn, Hilary Swank and the great Australian director, Phillip Noyce."

The film will air on the Bbc early next year (13).