David Soul, best known for the cult 1970s series Starsky and Hutch, is working on a pilot programme in the North-East. But he knows that whatever else he does, he'll never be separated from Hutch.

IN an interview in the first Starsky and Hutch fan magazine 25 years ago, David Soul admitted to two vices - drinking beer and chain smoking. The former wasn't a problem when he took time off from filming at Tyne Tees Television's Newcastle studio this week, as he settled for a bottle of Coca-Cola. But his other vice forced a move outdoors to the windswept restaurant veranda.

He wanted a cigarette - well, a succession of them - during his lunch break from making a half-hour special, The Magic Lantern. This is one of eight pilot programmes under the umbrella title of The Hothouse which, backers Tyne Tees and Northern Film and Media hope, will be picked up by network and film commissioners.

The Magic Lantern mixes animation, the work of County Durham animators Robert and Jan Jefferson, and live action. Soul is cast as The Projectionist, the only flesh-and-blood member of the cast, who tells stories from the region's folklore.

"Is he American?", Soul is asked.

"He is now," he replies.

He decided to get involved within ten minutes of meeting producer Peter Kershaw and hearing the idea. "It's such a unique project these guys have put together, and you don't get the opportunity to be part of the beginning of something very often," he says. "It's a wonderful confluence of live action and animation - and, as an adult, it's something I wouldn't be ashamed to watch."

Soul, who'll be 60 next month, hopes The Magic Lantern - which is a working title - will be more than a one-off and become a series. Whatever happens, he won't be jetting back to America, having applied for UK citizenship. He hopes it will come through shortly. "I've been here for eight years. I've paid my dues and done work for the community. I believe I've earned it," he says.

"If you had lived in Los Angeles as long as I had, you would know why I wanted to live here. It's a factory there. I spent a lot of my early life in Europe. I was born in Chicago, but grew up in Berlin. My dad worked with refugees and I adopted a more European upbringing. I feel very comfortable here."

He was working on stage in this country long before the current influx of American film and TV actors eager to prove their acting credentials. Soul was last in the North-East touring in the thriller Deathtrap.

His most recent work, however, took him back to LA and the role that made him famous, Detective Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson in the TV police series that ran from 1976 to 1981, making international stars of Soul, co-star Paul Michael Glaser and chunky cardigans.

The pair reunited for cameo roles in the new Starsky And Hutch movie, which sees Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson take over as the crimebusting duo. There were stories that Soul wanted nothing to do with the movie, but he sets the record straight: "I never said anything bad about the film or the actors," he says. "I have a problem with the concept that branding has become so important, and they traded on that brand without acknowledging the relationship of the two guys and relationship with the audience over 25 years."

He and Glaser - of whom he says, "he's my best friend, he's my brother" - wanted to return to the roles 25 years on and bring closure to the characters. Instead the producers opted to take the brand and bring in two new actors ("wonderful actors") and trade on the name value. "It was fun and they treated us with great respect. It was a good day's work," he says.

The pair are developing several projects together. One will see them finishing off the Starsky and Hutch story themselves, although a name change to Sam and Harry is necessary for legal reasons. Soul is also hoping to adapt a film script written by Glaser called The Big Five-O for the stage. That will involve him using digital media with live performance, an area that interests him greatly. He used pre-shot video and live video on stage for a production of Fool For Love at the Edinburgh Festival a few years ago, and wants to develop those ideas further.

He seems to accept that he'll never be separated from Hutch, no matter what other things he does. Unlike some actors forever associated with a particular role, he doesn't have a problem with it. "I've done pretty much what I wanted to do anyway," he says. "If you can do one thing in your life that's counted for something, you should be happy. I've seen my role in Starsky And Hutch differently over the years. I see the relationship between me and Paul as something very different. It was so much fun getting together on this film. It was just great."

* The Magic Lantern is scheduled to be shown on Tyne Tees on August 28.

Published: 12/07/2003