Hilary Duff to take on lead role in How I Met Your Mother sequel

Actress Hilary Duff is set to star in the highly anticipated sequel to hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother, which ran from 2005 to 2014.

Television network Hulu announced on Wednesday (April 21) that it had ordered 10 episodes of How I Met Your Father with Duff, 33, as the lead as well as producer.

"I've been incredibly lucky in my career to play some wonderful characters and I'm looking forward to taking on the role of Sophie," Duff said in a statement, adding that she was a huge fan of How I Met Your Mother.

The former teen star of Lizzie McGuire (2001 to 2004) has been starring in comedy drama Younger (2015 to present), which is currently in its seventh and final season.

The original creators of How I Met Your Mother, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, will be joined by the showrunners of romantic family drama series This Is Us (2016 to present), Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger.

How I Met Your Mother follows the character of Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), who tells his children a long and winding tale of how he met their mother. The beloved series won multiple Emmy awards and a spin-off was in the works even before the finale aired, but failed to take off previously.

The upcoming sequel series will see a mother named Sophie telling her son the story of how she met his father. It will reportedly feature new characters but will follow the unique storytelling format of the original.

Duff, who last month became a mother for the third time, posted about her excitement for How I Met Your Father on Instagram: "I truly feel blessed."

Borrowing a catchphrase from one of the iconic characters on the show, Barney Stinson, who is always in a suit, she said: "Where's your suit? Suit up."