'The Boys meets Snatch' - Birmingham actor creates gritty gangster film starring Paul Chuckle

A Birmingham actor has made his directorial debut with a gritty gangster film he described as "The Boys meets Snatch". Peter Hirst also stars in the movie alongside a host of famous faces - including Paul Chuckle who takes on a surprisingly sinister role.

Peter's acting credentials include Ship of the Damned and Brassic, Sky's hit comedy starring Michelle Keegan. Some may also recognise him from Late Night Lycett with Brummie comedian Joe Lycett, but this is the first time the 38-year-old has created his own material.

He said Fall to the Top was about Mickey, an arrogant young Irishman in London who believed he was owned more from life. Peter said a chance encounter in a nightclub set Mickey on a different, and dangerous path.

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Peter said the film originated from a show reel he'd put together, which very quickly spiralled into a 15-minute short film. He told BirminghamLive: "I said there's no point in doing a short film, I might as well go all out and do it properly. I did the entire movie in about two weeks, put it out to a few friends, family and ghost-writers and they absolutely loved it and said I needed to get it on the screens.

"It was a serendipitous time, being on Late Night Lycett and Brassic, I'd met a few celebs and got some really good industry contacts, managed to rope in a few people and it snowballed a little bit. It's gone from this little thing to this huge thing."

Celebrities taking part include 2006 Big Brother winner Pete Bennett, George Newton, of This is England and Dead Man's Shoes fame, Father Ted's Joe Rooney and heavyweight boxing legend Big Joe Egan, who was once described by Mike Tyson as "the toughest white man alive".

But it's ChuckleVision and Benidorm star Paul Chuckle, who may surprise viewers most - as he plays a silent assassin in the flick. Peter said: "I've been watching him since I was a kid and I thought, he had a look about him where you know he could be sinister, but no one has ever done that with him. I want him to be psychotic, walk into a room and creep people out - and he did that really well, he was fantastic to work with."

Peter said the film, which he has self-funded, was halfway through the filming process, with scenes recently shot near Perton and Wolverhampton, in addition to locations in Manchester and London. It's hoped filming would be wrapped early next year, with the film being released on the likes of Amazon, Apple, Sky and YouTube in the summer.

He said it had been "surreal" to see his ideas come to life and he already has a prequel "ready to go", which he would "absolutely love" to set 20 years earlier and based "purely in Birmingham". Peter added: "That's the goal."