Peely - film star.

[Dougal McKinnon]

For those who haven't seen it, this is from the BBC website:-


	     'Grumpy old man' role for Peel

              Broadcasting legend John Peel is to make his feature
              film debut - playing himself. 

              Peel, a BBC Radio 1 DJ since the station's launch in
              1967, appears in the film Five Seconds To Spare
              alongside Max Beesley, Ray Winstone and Sean
              Pertwee. 

              Peel, who also presents Radio 4's award-winning show
              Home Truths, filmed the cameo role earlier this year. 

              "I play a grumpy old man who spends his whole life
              filing records. How on earth they thought of me, I don't
              know," he remarked. 

              Five Seconds To Spare is a thriller about a young
              musician who goes to London to further his career but
              becomes a witness to murder. 

              "I was rather proud of it. The only other acting I have
              done was on The Archers," said Peel, referring to
              Radio 4's daily soap opera. 

              "The film did appeal to me. I rather liked the idea of
              being in a retirement home, looking through the TV
              schedules and seeing it there in years to come," he
              added. 

              Peel, typically self-effacing, admitted that his part was
              small: "I only had 57 words." 

              Widely regarded a national institution, Peel received
              an OBE in 1998 and has been described by Prime
              Minister Tony Blair as a "radio legend". 

              BBC Two celebrated the DJ's 60th birthday last year
              with an evening of programmes dedicated to his
              career. 

              The film has not been released yet but a spokesman
              for the distributor, Winchester Films said they were
              hoping it would go into cinemas later this year. 

              It's a moment Peel confessed he is eager to see: "I
              keep looking for it amongst each week's new films in
              the papers, but it's never there," he said. 

dougal mckinnon
(d.mckinnon@...)