A new horror-comedy miniseries will begin airing on Channel 4 very soon and will feature names such as Sue Johnston, Robert Lindsay and Anita Dobson among the cast.

The six-episode show was created by cult director Ben Wheatley, who is known for films such as A Field in England, Kill List, Sightseers and Free Fire.

The plot of the series revolves around an experimental bio-weapon that falls off the back of a military lorry in the fictional town of Dambury, creating a plague that turns the old into monsters but leaves the young unscathed.

Watch to Watch adds: "On the night of the outbreak a group of teens are going about their normal lives, until one of their nans becomes infected and attacks. And as the gang find themselves pitted against the zombie army, they start to realise that just because you are fighting an apocalypse, it doesn’t mean your other problems disappear.

"However, they must work out what was behind the chemical spill just to have a chance at survival."

Speaking to the Radio Times about her role in the show, Anita Dobson said: "I’d just done an episode of Inside No. 9, which was a bit of a departure for me in itself.

"When I first spoke to Ben and I said to him, 'It’s very dark…' he said, 'Anita, if we don’t have fun with it, if we don’t make them laugh, we can’t do it.' Which was what sold me."

Dobson took a role in the series despite not being a massive fan of the horror genre.

She explained: "Bloody gore is not really on my go-to list. It’s a whole new world. Suddenly you get asked to do things like FearFest – who knew there was a FearFest? And who knows what a FearFest is? But Comic-Con will embrace this wholeheartedly. And so we’ll go along to do the signings, and there will be people there with their heads hanging off."

Channel 4 Generation Z full cast list

  • Sue Johnston as Cecily
  • Robert Lindsay as Morgan
  • Anita Dobson as Janine
  • Viola Prettejohn as Finn
  • Jay Lycurgo as Charlie
  • Lewis Gribben as Stef
  • Ava Hinds-Jones as Billy
  • Paul Bentall as Frank
  • Robin Hill as Karl
  • Ellie-Mae Siame as Maisy
  • Bekir Aslan as Mike
  • T'Nia Miller as Charlie's mother
  • Chris Reilly as Terry
  • John Hollingworth as Parrenster

  • Garrick Hagon as Gabe
  • Rebecca Humphries as Jane
  • Maanuv Thiara as Malcolm
  • Ben McGregor as Clarence Chutt
  • Ryan Pope as Clacy
  • Andrew Kazamia as Joseph
  • Sabina Arthur as Nurse May Richards
  • Ellora Torchia as Gil Lonian
  • Mark Conway as Callum Hughes
  • Joss Carter as Ciaran
  • Christian Lee Smith as Sgt Geoff
  • Tiffany Gray as Pepper Shawcross
  • Johnny Vegas
  • Robert James-Collier
  • Buket Kömür

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When will Generation Z be on TV?

The first episode of Generation Z will air on Channel 4 at 9pm on Sunday, October 27 with the second episode airing in the same timeslot the following day (Monday, October 28).

After that, the remaining four episodes will air in the same format over the next couple of weeks.

Alternatively, all of the episodes will be available to watch in a boxset on Channel 4's streaming service.