Rihanna to play Janet Leigh's 'Psycho' role in Bates Motel horror TV series

Rihanna is to reprise the iconic role made famous by Hollywood actress Janet Leigh in the horror movie Psycho for the prequel series Bates Motel. The pop star is to play Marion Crane in the horror series' final season.

The 28-year-old singer posted a video on Twitter on 22 July, revealing she was joining the cast which stars British actor Freddie Highmore as the serial killer Norman Bates.

In the video, the Bajan singer surprised her fans, saying: "Hello Comic-Con, it's your girl Riri and let me tell you what a bad b***h is about to do," the Grammy winner said. "I am about to check into the Bates Motel very soon… guess what else? Guess who's playing Marion?"

Rihanna paused for a moment and then said: "Yes! So all you Comic-Con fans, all you Bates Motel fans, stay tuned!"

Actress Leigh, who died in 2004 at the age of 77, won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Oscar for best-supporting actress for her role in Psycho.

The makers of Bates Motel, which has been shown on the Universal Channel in the UK, say the show will end after its fifth season next year.

"We wanted to thrust the iconic role into a contemporary spotlight," the producers said at the Comic-Con fan convention in San Diego. "We also heard Rihanna was a fan, and we were huge fans of hers, so it was the perfect collision of creativity and fate."

The TV show series reboot is a prequel to the original 1960 film Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, which focuses on the teenage years of Norman Bates. Showrunner Carlton Cruse said of the season finale: "We are going to see a version of Norman that is much closer now to the one in the movie, but the way in which he acts and the events in the story will not be the same as the movie."