It’s a Happy New FEAR for Bradford actor Christian Cooke who has a starring role in a major new spooky TV series beginning after Christmas.

Christian, 22, plays Luke Rutherford, the last in the bloodline of the infamous Van Helsing family from Dracula, in the ITV show Demons, with the first episode broadcast on Saturday, January 3.

It has a stellar cast, including Life on Mars stalwart Philip Glenister, and Mackenzie Crook, from The Office on the small screen and Pirates of the Caribbean on the big.

Former St Mary’s School, Menston pupil and Bingley Arts Centre regular Christian, who also appeared in Peter Pan at the Alhambra as a youngster, said: “I play Luke Rutherford. The mystery surrounding his father’s death is uncovered and he just has to accept his destiny and become a demon hunter.”

Christian was most recently on TV in the spoof-ish ITV soap Echo Beach, and began his acting career on the screen aged ten when he appeared in Yorkshire Sunday night feel-good drama Where The Heart Is.

But Demons looks set to propel Christian to the big time. Christian said: “The whole cast is really talented. Mackenzie was such a nice guy.”

Phil Glenister plays an American called Rupert Galvin who tracks down his godson Luke in contemporary London to tell him of his ancestry, which is all tied up in the Dracula myth.

Mackenzie Crook – complete with a crooked beak as the villainous vampire Gladiolus Thrip – leads a rabble of unsavoury characters.

After Echo Beach and parts in shows like Robin Hood and Doctor Who, Demons marks Christian’s first lead role. He said: “This has certainly been the most challenging for me because we worked 74 days straight without a break and 15 hours a day and I was in nearly every scene, so it’s really difficult. But that’s how I like it, if I could work like that on every job I would.”