Salman tries to scratch his acting itch

Sir Salman Rushdie, author of the Satanic Verses, appears to have caught the acting bug. Although to date he has only had cameos in three productions – he played himself in the first Bridget Jones movie, a gynaecologist in Then She Found Me with Helen Hunt and more recently was seen in a video promoting Scarlett Johansson's first musical offering – the 60-year-old writer feels that he has much more to offer as a thespian.

He says: "When I was at college I did more acting than writing, but I discovered I wasn't any good, so I did the other thing. Now it's like an unscratched itch. So if there are jobs, I'm available."