FILM superstars Joan Collins and Sir John Mills have joined TV film expert Barry Norman and other stars in contributing to a book about the cinemas of Leigh, Tyldesley, Atherton and Astley.

The famous names, which also include Sir Ian McKellen, Edward Fox and Sir David Puttnam, were approached to give their personal favourite British films for 'The Sixpenny Rush' a new book by Tony Ashcroft, Leigh's local history librarian, which is published on October 4.

And surprisingly, for someone with a reputation for being raunchy, the favourite film of Ms Collins is not in the sexy category at all. She prefers 'Great Expectations', the classic based on the novel by Charles Dickens. z

Several local personalities are also included in the paperback book which gives readers a touch of nostalgia for the days when cinema was king in the region. Besides giving a short history of each cinema, the book includes old photographs of most of them, as well as some modern pictures showing the buildings as they look today.

Tony Ashcroft said: "I am delighted at the response we had to requests from the film stars and I am sure the book will be well received by the public."

'The Sixpenny Rush' is £4.95 a copy and will be on sale at Chamley's Bookshop, Cannings Newsagents, Leigh Library, and Something Special in Leigh, Atherton Bookshop, Atherton Library, Tyldesley Library, Pritchard's Newsagents and Tick's Newsagents, Tyldesley, Proctor's Newsagents, Astley, Bent's Garden Centre, Glazebury, and Glazebury Post Office, as well as other selected outlets.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.