PAULINE HAWKINS meets rising Northern star Antony Cotton, who has stepped up from the Oldham Theatre Workshop to The Big Breakfast Show...

AT the age of 25, Lancashire-born Antony Cotton has a CV to turn many actors green with envy.

Not only has he proved his acting ability to television viewers, he now has his own spot on a breakfast programme and is working on a sitcom script for the BBC.

Antony's first weekly slot on the wacky Channel 4 Big Breakfast show hosted by Paul Tonkinson and Amanda Byram was screened on Tuesday.

And the BBC has commissioned a script for a sitcom set in a Northern hairdressing salon with the cheeky title of Having It Off.

Antony says of his 10-minute slot on the Big Breakfast, called The Pink Pound Shop: "It's about fashion, music, where to go and where to be seen, what's hot today and what's not.

"I can talk about whatever I want. It's my own little section."

His first appearance on Tuesday included chat on the celebrity revival of the cravat, neckwear favoured by English gentlemen such as David Niven, Peter Bowles, Terry-Thomas and Noel Coward.

One of the floormen had to wear one for the viewers -- something he was "thrilled to bits" about, said Antony, with a fair bit of irony in his voice.

Viewers will have to tune in next Tuesday at about 7.30am to find out what Antony will be gossiping about next -- he's not revealing anything until the day. He was told of the opportunity by his agent, went for a screen test and landed the job.

"I am going to enjoy doing it and hopefully it will be the start of a fruitful relationship. The first slot went very well and the Big Breakfast team are all great to work with," he said.

Antony, who hails from Greenmount, near Bury, was a pupil at Woodhey High School, Holcombe Brook, before gaining a place at Oldham Theatre Workshop.

He lived in Manchester for six years but has recently bought a house in Stubbins, Rossendale.

His first television break came three years ago when he landed the role of Alexander in the Channel Four series Queer As Folk.

"It was a brilliant job. I made a lot of great mates and it opened a lot of doors for me," Antony said.

But perhaps his greatest achievement yet is his idea for a comedy script which he hopes the BBC will turn into a six-part sitcom.

The first read-through of the script is due to happen in May.

Antony has co-written Having It Off with his friend Sarah Moffett, an actress from Bradford whom he met five years ago. He approached the BBC with his script, which is in its early stages of life, but he hopes it will be considered funny enough to make it on to our television screens.

"It's set 'Up North' with a lot of heart and pathos. It is not clever. It is in no way abstract.

"It is not an alternative comedy show -- it is a parody of real life.

"If it is made into a sitcom it will be a dream come true," he said. He hopes it will be viewed in a similar vein to the comedy classics Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served? and Absolutely Fabulous.

On the subject of Ab Fab, Kathy Burke, who featured in the hit series, is a good friend of Antony's and he hopes if his own series takes off that Kathy will put in an appearance in one of the episodes. She is brilliant, a diamond," he said.

Other showbiz friends include You've Been Framed star Lisa Riley and former Brookside actress Anna Friel, whom he met at the Oldham Theatre Workshop.

"I have always had lovely friends, and we keep in touch," he said.

Antony's acting career seems to have rubbed off on his mum, Enid Dunn, who took up acting when she was 50 and is currently working on a low-budget film in Manchester.

Antony had to adopt Cotton, his mother's maiden name, as his stage name because there was already someone called Antony Dunn on the acting scene.

But if Having It Off hits the small screen the name, Dunn may feature in the credits.

"Perhaps we'll get mum into an episode -- if she plays her cards right," Antony said.