It has to be a step up from pulling pints.

As the jovial owner of Mu Mu bar and Zaffa Mediterranean Restaurant in Maidstone, Ciaran O’Quigley is well used to entertaining punters.

But he’s got his work cut out now.

The nightclub man is to appear alongside Hollywood legend Burt Reynolds before thousands of cinema-goers, including Her Majesty the Queen.

Mr O’Quigley, 40, appeared in the Isle of Man filming of A Bunch of Amateurs, a comedy co-written by Private Eye editor Ian Hislop, starring 70s movie monster Burt Reynolds.

The film, which also stars Derek Jacobi and Imelda Staunton, has a Royal premiere on Monday in London’s Leicester Square.

“To get a Royal premiere is a dream come true,” said Mr O’Quigley. “It’s going to be really enjoyable – I get to go to London and it’s good for my CV.”

In the film, Mr O’Quigley plays a reporter on the trail of Jefferson Steel (Burt Reynolds), an ageing Hollywood action hero who’s been duped into playing a role in a sleepy English amateur company’s production of King Lear.

A Bunch of Amateurs is released nationwide by Entertainment Film Distributors on Friday, December 19.

•For the full story, see the Kent Messenger.