ACTOR Nigel Havers has not only consented to be a patron of the proposed £4.5 million Riverbank theatre/cinema in Marlborough, he has given a further pledge.

As he arrived at the official launch of fundraising for the project on Thursday, he told the Gazette that he wanted to be among the first to appear on stage at the theatre.

The actor who has a weekend home on the Wiltshire-Berkshire border has starred in many TV productions including Manchild, The Charmer and Dangerfield.

His films include A Passage to India, The Whistle Blower and Paradise Lost.

He has been signed up to star in a new play so new he was not allowed to name it and said he would love to bring the show to the Riverbank when it's open.

No stranger to Marlborough, he is frequently seen shopping in Waitrose, the actor said: "I think a theatre will do really well here."

He was one of the guests at a glitzy launch of the fundraising for the multi-million pound theatre and arts centre.

It was held in the Adderley at Marlborough College and the invited audience included local dignitaries together with Devizes MP Michael Ancram, the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire Sir Maurice Johnston and the leader of Kennet District Council, Coun Chris Humphries.

There were the famous like Nigel Havers and the very rich like microchip entrepreneur Dr Andrew Rickman of Rockley Manor, and Ben Sangster, one of the horse racing dynasty from Manton House who, together with Riverbank chairman Rosie Hill's husband Robert, were in the recently published list of the richest 1,000 people in the UK.

Patrons of the Riverbank include TV's Inspector Wrexford George Baker, who was unable to attend the launch, Shakespearean actor Simon Russell Beale, design guru Terence Conran, the chairman of the John Lewis Partnership Sir Stuart Hampson, and the head of the Sangster horse racing and breeding dynasty, Robert Sangster.

Shortly before Thursday's launch the chairman of GWR Radio, Ralph Bernard, who lives in Marlborough, also agreed to become a patron.

Mr Ancram, who attended the launch with his wife Lady Jane, said: "I have supported this project right from the start and Rosie Hill has made sure that I have worked hard on it."

It was the MP who brokered meetings with Sir Stuart Hampson whose JLP group includes Waitrose, which will be funding the Riverbank parking.

Mr Ancram said: "Those meetings proved to be very fruitful."

He also praised Kennet District Council, owner of the proposed site at the side of the George Lane car park, for its support. "They are the key to this happening," said the MP.

Addressing the 160 guests at the launch, Mr Ancram said: "I think this is one of the most exciting projects I have been involved with for a very long time."

The MP added: "The fact that the Riverbank is about to become a reality is very exciting."

Mrs Hill, responding to Mr Ancram, told him: "You have been a tower of strength for us right from the beginning."

She told the guests that Wiltshire was a wonderful county set amid fabulous countryside.

"Wiltshire has almost everything," said Mrs Hill.

"What does it not have yet? The Riverbank."

The Riverbank, she avowed, would be a centre for the arts and cultural activities, not just for the town of Marlborough but for the whole area.

Mrs Hill said support from the project was quite evident from the £100,000 that had already been raised to fund the initial planning and feasibility studies.

It is planned the Riverbank will have a 300 capacity with versatile seating that can be arranged for cinema, for theatre in the round or any other combination. The raked seating could also be retracted leaving a clear floor space for exhibitions and events.

A separate studio, big enough to seat 70, would also be adaptable and available for exhibitions, conferences and workshops.

Mrs Hill said: "With these facilities we will be able to attract top touring companies, everything from Shakespeare to pantomime."

Research had shown a huge demand for a cinema said Mrs Hill, omitting to mention that the town's original picture house called The Cinema closed at the end of the 1960s and became part of the Waitrose building.

The projected start date for the building was 2006 giving less than three years in which to raise the £4.5 million, which includes £3.8 million capital costs and a contingency figure of £650,000 to cover the launch period.

It is predicted the Riverbank will be self supporting within three years.