Swayze to start filming TV drama

Filming is expected to begin in August and last four months

Actor Patrick Swayze has been given the go-ahead by doctors treating his pancreatic cancer to start filming a new TV series, according to reports.

The Dirty Dancing star will play a veteran FBI agent in The Beast, the Hollywood Reporter said.

He will film 13 one-hour episodes for the A&E cable network, it reported.

A&E's Bob DeBitetto told the New York Times he had "a fairly high degree of expectation that Patrick will be good to work a full production schedule".

"No-one is using words like cured or remission or miracle," the network's general manager added.

But treatment, including chemotherapy along with more experimental drugs, meant Swayze was well enough to work, he said.

In a statement to both publications, Swayze did not mention his health.

He said: "I have searched for quite a long time to find a character that is this multilayered, unpredictable and downright entertaining, as well as a project this current and cutting-edged."

Filming is expected to begin in August and last four months.

Zack Van Amburg, co-president of Sony's television studio, said Swayze told him after he received the news of his cancer: "I'm in great condition. I'm a cowboy. I'm a dancer. I'll beat this."

The star was diagnosed in March.