Angela Lansbury returns to London in Blithe Spirit at Gielgud Theatre from March 2014

Angela Lansbury is set to return to the West End for the first time in more than 30 years, reprising the role of Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit that she performed on Broadway in 2009, according to the Daily Mail.

The production, which will run at the Gielgud Theatre from 18 March 2014 (previews from 1 March), will be helmed by Michael Blakemore, who directed the Broadway production at the Shubert Theater that also starred Rupert Everett.

Rumours of the production resurfaced earlier this year when Lansbury told American talkshow hosts Tavis Smiley and Cornel West that she was "hopefully" going to London.

She told Baz Bamigboye that "Coward is the essence of a Britishness long gone", adding that she feels in "terrific shape" for the London run, but she "hopes to God I can still fly around at the same rate".

The cast will also include Charles Edwards as Condomine, Janie Dee as Ruth and Jemima Rooper as Elvira, says the Mail.

Lansbury hasn't appeared in the West End since a glut of performances in the mid-1970s, including starring roles in Gypsy and Hamlet. Rumours of her return first circulated back in 2009.

Blithe Spirit will have a 15 week run following the Gielgud Theatre's current incumbent Strangers on a Train.