Julian Assange's new television programme is to be broadcast by Russia's RT station, the network has announced.

On Wednesday RT revealed its news executive Nikolay Bogachikhin held talks with Assange to secure the show.

“When we talked, Julian was very calm and relaxed about it all, which you wouldn’t expect from someone who’s been under house arrest for more than 400 days. He was very full of ideas, some of them were born as we talked, so I think this will be a very hard-hitting show,” he said.

In a statement published on the WikiLeaks website on Monday, Assange said he would be hosting ten weekly half-hour programmes featuring "in-depth conversations with key political players, thinkers and revolutionaries" from around the world.

"Are we heading towards utopia, or dystopia and how we can set our paths? This is an exciting opportunity to discuss the vision of my guests in a new style of show that examines their philosophies and struggles in a deeper and clearer way than has been done before," he said.

He is currently under house arrest in the UK awaiting his final extradition trial on 1 February. He is wanted for questioning in Sweden over accusations that he sexually assaulted two women there.

The show will be filmed at Ellingham Hall, Norfolk, where Assange is currently under house arrest. The series is said to begin airing in mid-March.