An actor from the East End is hoping his first film for decades can thrust him into the limelight.

Nick Parkin, of Brayford Square, Stepney, is to co-star in The Medal, a dystopian horror set to premiere at Frightfest 2013 in Leicester Square next year.

His role as “Sergeant Death” sees him appearing alongside X-Factor star Tulisa Constotavlos’ controversial ex-boyfriend Justin Edwards.

Nick, 48, said: “I hadn’t done any acting in a long time, so of course this can give me a boost, because they were very happy with what I did on the film.”

However, his real passion is screen-writing, and he now has plans to produce a sitcom he wrote 20 years ago.

“I am more into writing. A company was going to run a sitcom I wrote 20 years ago, but they went bust and I put the script back into my briefcase.

“Sync Films were looking for a new project after filming The Medal, so, I thought I’d pitch the idea, and they agreed to produce it.”