Bermudian Marvin Ford has joined the touring cast of a musical written by rock star Sting.

Mr Ford said he was surprised to have landed his first professional role in The Last Ship.

He said: “My first thought was that they were joking. I was shocked.”

Mr Ford, a regular on the Bermuda stage, left the island several years ago to pursue a career as a horse trainer.

He was lured back on stage by his wife, who signed him up to appear as an “unexpected star” on Michael McIntyre’s Big Show in December, but it was his work in Bermuda that landed him an audition for The Last Ship.

Mr Ford said: “The musical director for the show, Richard John, was actually the musical director for The Full Monty when we performed it in Bermuda.

“They were looking for someone to do the part. Richard suggested that they look for a singer and go from there. I got a call at 8am on a Wednesday and I had my audition on Thursday.”

He said having Mr John there made the audition more comfortable, but he didn’t feel he had sung his best.

Mr Ford added: “I don’t know what they saw, but I got the call the next day saying I had the part.”

The Last Ship tells the story of the return of Gideon Fletcher to the Tyneside shipbuilding town of Wallsend after 15 years to find the community facing an uncertain future.

The story is based on the life of Sting, who is from the town, and features some of his popular songs including Island of Souls, All This Time and When We Dance.

The show enjoyed a brief run on Broadway and won two Tony Award nominations.

The touring production will be the first performances in Britain.

Mr Ford said rehearsals for the show begin in London on Monday and the actors will move to Newcastle before the show’s opening on March 12.

The production will spend four weeks in Newcastle before embarking on a tour of the British Isles, with performances in Liverpool, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh and York.

The show is directed by Lorne Campbell and features set design by the Tony Award-winning 59 Productions, the team behind the video design for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.