THE nation’s favourite post-man will swap the winding roads of Cumbria for the glitz and glam of Hollywood when he stars in a 3-D animated film.

For almost 30 years, the adventures of Postman Pat have had children glued to their TV sets.

Now the much-loved postie is set to make his big screen debut.

The film, due out in 2011, will see Pat win a Britain’s Got Talent-style singing con-test and be forced to choose between international star-dom and a peaceful life in Greendale.

Andrew Kerr of Classic Media, which owns the rights for Postman Pat, said it was the latest in a series of excit-ing projects to bring the character to an even wider audience.

“We are immensely excited to announce this project,” he said.

“Postman Pat is enjoying a renaissance at present.”

Postman Pat has always held a special place in the hearts of Cumbrians. His creator, John Cunliffe, dreamed up the friendly postie while living in Kendal in the seventies.

The fictional village of Greendale is based on the picturesque countryside of Longsleddale.

Cunliffe also enjoyed leng-thy chats with the postmaster of Beast Banks post office in Kendal and visited local farms as part of his research. The author, who now lives in West Yorkshire, said he had been thrilled to discover Pat and Jess were going to become film stars. “I am delighted the film is going to happen but I don’t know very much more about it,” he said.

“I was living in Kendal and teaching at Castle Park Sch-ool when I came up with the stories and I had no idea they would become so popular.”

Mr Cunliffe, who also created and starred in the children’s TV series Rosie and Jim, said he thought the appeal of Pat lay in the exc-itement children felt when the post arrived.

“The postman to a child is someone who brings birth-day cards and birthday presents – they are not aware that he also brings tax returns and bills,” he said.

“To a child a postman is an exciting person and a fam-iliar person, especially in a rural village.”

The feature length film, which is being produced by Timeless Films, follows a recent advertising campaign for Specsavers and the laun-ch of Postman Pat Special Delivery Service last Septem-ber.

Boasting his very own helicopter and stunt bike, the series brought Pat and Jess into the 21st century, with mission-focused storylines, new locations and a host of brand new vehicles.

Pat’s movie debut will also make use of the latest tech-onology, combining the orig-inal stop-frame animation with added CG and 3-D effects.

A script is being written by award-winning script writer Kim Fuller, whose credits include High Heels and Lowlifes, starring Minnie Driver, and TV programmes, such as Red Dwarf, Spitting Image and Lenny Henry.