'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.

'Rather proud'

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."

National institution

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.