David Hasselhoff, star and producer of global hit TV series Baywatch, is to swap the beaches of California for the boards of New York.

Hasselhoff, 48, is to appear in a production of the musical Jekyll & Hyde opening at the city's Plymouth Theater in mid-October.

The role requires the beefy star to sing 14 songs, and he has now employed a vocal coach to help him get his voice in as good a shape as his body.

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Mission star Scott on stage with Mendes

Dougray Scott, currently starring as a villain in Mission: Impossible 2, is to appear at London's Donmar Warehouse in a production by director Sam Mendes.

The Scottish star will star in the World War I story To The Green Fields And Beyond.

He has also just finished shooting in Michael Apted's World War II spy thriller, Enigma, co-starring with Kate Winslet.

Mendes' first outing as director since his Oscar-laden film American Beauty will open in London in late September.

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Grantham plays villain in ITV drama

Actor Leslie Grantham, who played Dirty Den in EastEnders, is to appear as a villain in a new ITV children's drama.

Grantham plays a sinister second hand car salesman in Gypsy Girl, which also stars Great Expectations' Gemma Gregory.

Grantham was recently reunited with his EastEnders co-star Anita Dobson in the Skycrime drama The Stretch.

The 53-year-old also has two films in the pipeline - stag night comedy The Wedding Tackle, starring Tony Slattery and the crime thriller, Lava.