LORD OF THE RINGS - BEAN TO RETURN AS SOLDIER SHARPE

LORD OF THE RINGS star SEAN BEAN is set to recreate his role as heroic 19th century British Army officer RICHARD SHARPE in a one-off Christmas TV movie.

The British actor found fame in his homeland playing Sharpe in 15 TV movies in the 1990s - and now he's keen to sign up for another period drama.

He says, "Sharpe was great for me and I still get a lot of fanmail from fans. They're thinking about doing a one-off right before Christmas, which would be set in India. That would be quite good. I'd like that."