Star of stage and screen David Suchet will be reading the entire Gospel of Mark at St Paul's Cathederal just before Holy Week begins.

Suchet, best known as the moustached eponymous hero of Agatha Christie's Poirot, will be giving the dramatic reading on the 28th March, Hodder Faith has announced.

"The evening will be a dramatic reading of the Gospel, without commentary, read by one of the great actors of our times," a statement said.

It adds: "David Suchet is one of the best-known and best-loved actors of his generation... Raised without religion, he was converted by reading Romans 8 in a hotel Bible."

The event description reads: "Mark is the earliest of the Gospels, the one written closest to Jesus' lifetime. It is short, urgent, passionate and dramatic and reads a little like a front-line despatch from Christ's life and death. Often we hear the Gospels in short sections, but it can be a revelation to read – or hear – the whole of the story at once."

The St Paul's performance will not be Suchet's first public interaction with the Bible. He has previously recorded a reading of the whole of the New International Version – the first ever recording of the NIV by a single actor, which the actor described as his "legacy". The recording, The Complete NIV Audio Bible: Read by David Suchet, became widely popular, and reached sales of 25,000 across all its platforms. Suchet also made a successful BBC documentary following the footsteps of St Paul and St Peter, and is now the vice-president of the Bible Society.

Suchet, now a practising Anglican, is most famous for his role as Hercule Poirot in the long-running detective drama, for which he was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Royal Television Society.

The performance in March will be free but ticketed, and the vast 2,000 capacity of St Paul's cathedral is expected to be filled quickly.

In a previous interview with Christian Today, Suchet gave this advice to readers of Scripture: "Read it slowly, authoritatively and with confidence. It is the word of God."

The tickets for the reading are free through Eventbrite.