Christopher is to star in a BBC one-off drama as John Lennon in a biopic set during the turbulent demise of The Beatles.'Lennon Naked' covers the period from 1967 to 1971 when tensions within the band reached a peak and the star slipped into hard drug use.
Eccleston has already begun filming the 90-minute drama for BBC4.
When The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein died unexpectedly in 1967, it was a turning point in John Lennon's life. The film focuses on the turbulent and intense period of change that followed, and how John was haunted by his troubled childhood.
The film reveals the impact of re-establishing contact with his long lost father Freddie and the events that led John to shed everything both personally and creatively – from divorcing his long-suffering wife Cynthia, to changing his name and ultimately calling time on The Beatles.
Meeting Yoko Ono was the catalyst for this new era and the film explores the development of their extraordinary relationship. Together they experimented with both the musical and artistic avant garde but in doing so become outsiders.
It looks at their growing disillusionment with Britain and what caused John to abandon the UK to start a new life in America. A process that included John harnessing the power of radical Primal Scream psychotherapy to lay the ghosts of his past and go on to record arguably the most powerful solo work of his career.
Ben Stephenson, controller of BBC drama commissioning, said: "Securing Christopher Eccleston to play John Lennon is further testament to the calibre of drama on BBC4.
Torchwood actress Naoko Mori will play Yoko Ono, while Irish actor Andrew Scott stars as Paul McCartney.
'Lennon Naked' is currently filming in London; the 90-minute drama is written by Robert Jones (The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Party Animals) and will air in 2010.
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