James Nesbitt will go to the ball

Showbiz Correspondent Maureen Coleman chats with Jimmy Nesbitt about his charming new role. Filmed and edited by Gary Grattan.

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Jimmy Nesbitt... back in
Ulster for a Cinderella story

It's the classic fairy tale plot - the downtrodden beauty falls for the charming Prince. Ulster actor James Nesbitt stars in a modern-day version of Cinderella alongside Shameless star Maxine Peake. Showbiz Correspondent Maureen Coleman meets them in Belfast, where shooting is currently taking place

James Nesbitt arrives for costume and make-up, looking pretty perky for someone who has been out the night before with a local rock band.

Dressed in a tracksuit and red T-shirt, the actor is ready for his transformation from casual man-about-town to the charismatic - and chauvinistic - Professor Prince.

James, or Jimmy as he prefers to be called, plays the lead man in Cinderella - the second of four comedy/dramas reworked by contemporary writers as part of a modern- day anthology of fairy tales.

The rom-com is set, not in a palace or far-off kingdom, but in a university.

The arrogant professor believes that man, and not woman, is the reason we are all here today. But university cleaner Cindy, played by Shameless star Maxine Peake, is out to prove him wrong.

When an opportunity arises to become Professor Prince's assistant on a research trip to Borneo, two female students (the not-so-ugly sisters) are determined to impress him - but Cindy is not to be outdone.

The Hat Trick Productions drama, commissioned by the BBC, has been filming in Belfast over the past fortnight. The company has set up base near Cutter's Wharf along the Lagan, but filming has centred around Queen's University and Stranmillis Road.

Jimmy says he's delighted to be back home: "It's so exciting to be in Belfast now. I love it, it's got its own identity. It's like a blank sheet of paper and, hopefully, we'll be able to create something good here.

"I still have friends here and my mum and dad are in Castlerock. It's a good social existence and I'm really glad to be back."

Jimmy has spent his down time playing golf at nearby Belvoir - "I cleaned up the course" , he joked - and catching up with old friends, including Downpatrick rock band Ash, with whom he was spotted partying the previous night in the Limelight bar.

But if he's tired after a night on the town, he doesn't look it and is happy to chat about his new role - and the current one which has everybody talking.

"Yes, the Jekyll role has been very interesting to do," he said. "I'm being paid to be nasty, which is interesting, and I don't have to take the character home.

" It's all about the writing and Jekyll is so well-written. It's gathering momentum and is quite shocking, so I had a lot of fun doing it.

" In Cinderella, my character is the one that had to be padded out quite a bit as, in the original fairy tale, the prince only comes into it at the end.

"I play the handsome Prince - it's a very loose adaptation - who is actually an arrogant anthropologist who believes that the reason we're all here is down to man.

"It's a nice, gentle, funny script and I'd worked with the director before, but it also gave me the opportunity to work at home."

While Jimmy's making the most of being back in Northern Ireland, it's Maxine Peake's first time to the province.

The elfin-faced actress, best known for her roles in Shameless and Messiah, plays Cinderella, "a down-on-her-luck cleaner who has to deal with two ugly sisters, who are anything but ugly in this adaptation."

" It's set in academic circles and, of course, Cinderella gets her man in the end," she said.

"It's great to be here and working with Jimmy. I've only done a few scenes with him so far, but it's wonderful to be working with one of Northern Ireland's most famous exports."

The other fairy tales in the anthology are Billy Goat (which has already been filmed here), Rapunzel and The Emperor's New Clothes, also due to be shot in Ulster.

Cinderella, adapted by Richard Pinto and Anil Gupta of The Kumars fame, is produced by Rhonda Smith and directed by Peter Lydon. It will air on BBC1 later this year.