THREE friends from Bradford who made a video tribute to US police series Starsky and Hutch have had the chance to show it to the original stars.

Schoolmates Nadeem Butt, Riaz Ahmed and Zafar Amin met at a school reunion last year, where they reminisced about their days as students at Belle Vue Boys School.

It was during this meeting Mr Butt came up with the idea of paying tribute to their favourite television show from the 70s.

Using Bradford as the backdrop to their video the friends, aged 48 and 49, who have no acting or film-making experience, have produced a two-minute tribute film to Starsky and Hutch.

Mr Amin, a car mechanic from Manningham, stars as David Starsky, with Mr Butt, from Undercliffe, who runs a gadget business, playing the role of Kenneth ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson.

Mr Ahmed, who works at Bradford Council and is from Allerton, portrayed Captain Harold Dubey, and the friends even used their red Mitsubishi FTO, modified by Mr Amin, as a stand-in for Starsky’s famous Ford Gran Torino.

Mr Ahmed said: “We always wanted to do a television montage, and picked Starsky and Hutch as we are all big fans.

“It started as a bit of a joke but it has turned out well, we have shared it on lots of fan pages and the reaction from everyone has been brilliant. It’s something that hasn’t really been done before.”

Mr Ahmed said they are now planning on making a 30-minute tribute, and are appealing to budding actors to get in touch.

After producing the film, the trio attended the MCM Comic-Con event in Liverpool earlier this month, where Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul, the original Starsky and Hutch, were special guests, along with Antonio Fargas, who played Huggy Bear.

They got the opportunity to meet their heroes, and also show them their tribute video.

“We had a one-to-one meeting with them, it was priceless to meet them and I think they were really touched,” he added.

Paul Michael Glaser said: “It’s an honour to have been appreciated for so long in a show that’s crossed generations.”

“The fact that people still admire the show after all the years is testament to its success,” added David Soul.

After watching the trailer, Antonio Fargas told the three: “I wish you guys were around when we were casting.”

To get in touch about starring in their upcoming project, visit studio68.org.uk.