Speculation has reached fever-pitch over the last few weeks as to who will play Bilbo Baggins in the big screen adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit. The sad news is that Ian Holm, the 76 year old actor who played Bilbo in the The Lord of the Rings films (and Frodo in the BBC radio adaptation) is unlikely to asked to play the role. The names that have so far been mentioned include Jack Black and Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) but a clear favourite has emerged in the form of James McAvoy.

James McAvoy was best known in the UK for his appearances in Early Doors and Shameless until recent roles in The Last King of Scotland (with Forest Whitaker),  Atonement (with Keira Knightley) and Wanted (with Angelina Jolie) have made him a high profile, much sought-after film star.

Guillermo del Toro, the director of The Hobbit has refused to comment on the rumours but has commented "I can tell you it’s down to a few names that we all agree upon. For our first choice we all said the same name, it was completely magical."

According to the official James McAvoy web site the actor is a huge fan of JRR Tolkien’s work - http://www.jamesmcavoy.com/