Being cast in a TV production of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple series is a new departure for Jamie Theakston, but the presenter says he's keen to pursue an acting career.

Jamie Theakston intended to be an actor but somehow got diverted into presenting, making his name in children's TV in shows such as Live And Kicking, and going on to host shows including Top Of The Pops, A Question Of Pop and The Games.

Even this coming week he'll be seen counting down the nominees for the UK Music Hall Of Fame as well as presenting BBC2's daily quiz show Beg, Borrow Or Steal.

Slowly and surely, he's establishing himself as an actor. So much so that he says presenting jobs are few and far between because people think he's given that up to be an actor. "I was in the National Youth Theatre, so I've grown up wanting to be an actor from being a child. That was always the plan I had," he says.

"My contemporaries there were people like Daniel Craig. When they went off to drama school, I had a change of heart and went off in a different direction.

"When I first started doing telly, which was 12 years ago, children's TV was probably the only thing open to me. As I've got older, the kind of shows I've hosted and the audience have got older too. I left Radio One two or three years ago and I think it would be wrong for me to go back because I'm 33 and couldn't communicate with the target audience."

Once he became established as a presenter, he'd "almost given up" on acting when he happened to mention in an press interview that he wouldn't mind being in the play Art, then a big hit in London's West End. "The producer read the article and asked if I was serious," recalls Theakston.

He was deadly serious and found himself cast in the production. Other acting jobs have followed, including a leading role in a revival of W Somerset Maugham's Home And Beauty, again on the West End stage.

Nowadays, he doesn't feel he's on a mission to prove he can do both acting and presenting. He's simply enjoying the opportunity of doing them both. "I have such a chaotic approach to my career path that I'm just really enjoying what I'm doing. I feel really lucky," he says.

He's in illustrious company in his latest TV acting role in the opening film in ITV1's Miss Marple series - now known as Agatha Christie: Marple. His fellow actors in The Body In The Library include Joanna Lumley, Ian Richardson, Tara Fitzgerald, Simon Callow, Jack Davenport, Little Britain's David Walliams and, of course, Geraldine McEwan as the new Miss Marple.

He admits that he was nervous during the first days of filming with so many established actors. "It was completely one of the most nerve-wracking things I've ever had to do in my life," he says. "The other actors were very generous with their time and helped each other, so it was a lot easier for me."

His first scene took place on the balcony of a hotel overlooking the seafront in Eastbourne. Traffic was stopped on the road while the cameras turned, putting extra pressure on Theakston to get it right first time.

"I don't think I've ever shot anything on film before so there was a lot of hanging around and during that time Joanna and Ian, especially Ian, would regale us with stories of films he's done in the past," he says.

"He was very kind. If there was something I wasn't sure about, I could run it past him and he was very helpful."

Mark Gaskell, his character in The Body In The Library, is disillusioned and melancholic. He has a motive for murder because he's broke after gambling away his money.

There was much discussion beforehand about how stylised the 1950s accent would be. The costume, too, helped him settle into the role. "I would have been happy to grow a moustache but they didn't ask me," he says.

He knew the story beforehand because he's a big fan of Agatha Christie. Admirers of her work, though, should be prepared for a few shocks as the ending has been tinkered with. "I think it will excite her fans," says Theakston. "Whenever I speak to anyone who's a big fan, they all know what happens in the end so it's quite exciting that they might not be prepared for what does happen.

"I've not read all the books. The Body In The Library is the one I was most familiar with. Ours feels a lot more contemporary and has more humour. At times, there are some quite moving moments too."

Before the Marple mystery is screened, he'll be in presenting mode with BBC2's daily teatime quiz Beg, Borrow Or Steal and C4's continuing UK Music Hall Of Fame which is counting down top music acts from past decades.

Asked whether he prefers acting or presenting, Theakston replies: "I find presenting easier and find acting far more challenging - and for that reason alone, I prefer acting.

"I'm being offered roles but have nothing planned at the moment. It's interesting when you're doing presenting and acting because people ask if it's difficult to get roles. But people seem far more prepared to accept me as an actor."

He says he's often asked if he wants to be the new James Bond, now that Pierce Brosnan has given back his licence to kill. He dodges the question, saying: "I feel that I would be able to embrace different kinds of characters and different kinds of roles."

We'll take that as a "Yes", then.

* UK Music Hall Of Fame: Sunday, C4, 9pm.

* Beg, Borrow Or Steal: Monday to Friday, BBC2, 6pm.

* Marple: The Body In The Library is scheduled for screening on ITV1 later this year.

Published: 30/10/2004