The Thick of It star Peter Capaldi swears by power of poetry to raise funds for charity

The actor behind foul-mouthed fictional spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker is swapping curses for verses and reciting poetry for a charity album.Peter Capaldi, who plays the aggressive political insider in hit BBC comedy The Thick of It, is joined on the album by Hollywood legends Meryl Streep and Terence Stamp.

The Scottish actor recites several poems including To A Mouse by Robert Burns, while one of Streep's choices is Because I Could Not Stop For Death by American poet Emily Dickinson.

Also taking part is actress Maureen Lipman, who revealed how poetry helped her deal with the death of her husband, playwright Jack Rosenthal.

She said: "For two years after Jack died I was unable to read fiction. All that I wanted, no, needed was poetry. It could be sad or funny, but it had to touch on my own experience. This for me was solace."

Words For You The Next Chapter is a sequel to Words For You which featured British actors reading poetry to classical music. The first album sold more than 200,000 copies and raised tens of thousands of pounds for a charity that helps children with speech difficulties. The album, out on 8 November, also features Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch.