CHILDREN'S television favourite Mr Benn is heading for big-screen stardom - and a Blackburn-born movie boss is behind him.

Gary Smith, chief executive of Winchester Films, has already had hits with the romantic comedy Shooting Fish and drama Divorcing Jack.

Now he is hoping to raise £9million to finance two new movies being produced through a new arm of Winchester, UK Films Group plc.

Several big names have already been signed up for the projects.

Mr Benn is based on the BBC children's cartoon series about a man who has exciting adventures whenever he tries on the costumes in the mysterious Shopkeeper's shop.

John Hannah, star of Sliding Doors and Four Weddings and a Funeral, is to play Mr Benn.

Ben Kingsley, star of Gandhi and Schindler's List, will play the Shopkeeper.

The other film, entitled Honest, will be directed by ex-Eurythmics musician Dave Stewart.

Set in swinging London in the late 1960s, Honest is about three streetwise sisters who rob local businesses disguised as men. The screenplay has been written by Dick Clement and Ian la Frenais, who penned The Likely Lads, Porridge and the recent rock music comedy film Still Crazy.

Gary is a former pupil of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn, and used to work as an accountant in the town. He founded Winchester about six years ago in an effort to compete with the successful US studios.

He said: "This offer presents investors with an opportunity to invest in two high profile British films.

"And with top quality stars such as Dave Stewart, John Hannah and Ben Kingsley attached, we are very confident that both films will be successes internationally."

Pre-production on both films is expected to start in April with filming starting in July.

They will be marketed to distributors around the world by Winchester, and there are plans to launch them at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2000.

Gary said: "The British film industry is currently in a very healthy state with recent success stories including Sliding Doors, Shooting Fish and The Full Monty.

"British films are starting to perform well domestically as well as internationally, with the UK box office gross attributable to British films 27 per cent of the total market in 1997.

"It is also possible to generate revenues for film from a wide variety of sources throughout the world from theatrical to video to digital video disc, pay television, airlines and music."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.