IT'S lights, camera, action for a 64-year-old Duchy College student, who will be taking a break from his studies to star in the latest series of the ITV1 show, Doc Martin.

Iain Marshall, who is currently completing a Research Masters in Equitation Science, has been on the show before, but will this time be playing the postman.

Between acting jobs, Iain writes plays and is a musician and has previously taught drama in a private school, but his passion for horses brought him back to education in later life. He started the Foundation Degree in Equine Behaviour and Training in 2008, progressed to BSc (Hons) Equitation in 2010 and is now completing his Masters.

Iain said it is a real delight to be a part of the hit show: 'I haven't had a chance to talk to Martin Clunes yet about our shared love of horses, but hopefully while filming this next series, I will do. He's great fun to work alongside — a real giggle, which is a real contrast to the character he plays.'

Iain was 40 years older than most when he returned to study at Duchy College and was the only male in his class. He said: 'Rather than shrink into the background, I called upon my acting skills and became "one of the girls" — it was nice to bring a different dynamic or balance to the group.'

As an actor, Iain is particularly interested in communication and with his degrees has been able to combine this with his love of horses. He was interested to try to find out why horses can be calm around certain people and not others.

'I had done lots of writing in the past, but scientific writing was a challenge to start with as I am used to writing plays. Duchy's Dr Hayley Randle and Alison Abbey have both been so supportive. They are great confidence-givers, particularly when I've had the odd wobble.'

Off screen, the Doc Martin postie has a particular interest in the fear that can surround the relationships between humans and horses and has based his ResM study project on measuring the equine heart rate and fear in various scenarios.