Hove home 'thrilled' Michael Caine will play late resident

Tiago Conceicao said the team at The Pines in Fruze Hill, Hove are “ecstatic” that Sir Michael Caine will be playing Bernard Jordan, a Second World War veteran who escaped from the home in June 2014.

Bernard made headline news after he became the centre of a missing person search when he left the home unaccompanied and jumped on a ferry headed for Normandy.

Bernard Jordan received hundreds of cards on his 90th birthday

Tiago, who was the nurse on shift the day Bernard went missing, said he had heard whispers a movie was in the pipeline, but he never believed it would happen.

He said: “We’re all very happy. The actors that are going to play both him and his wife Irene are just a great testament to their life.

“To be honest, it’s such a warm story that your life doesn’t end when you enter a nursing home.

Sir Michael Caine will star alongside Glenda Jackson, who plays Bernard's wife Irene

“You can still go about your life and still do the things you love. That is how all nursing homes should be and allow you to be the best of yourself.

“I think that’s what we did with Bernie and that’s something that we are all very happy about.”

Bernard, a Second World War submariner, mayor and long-serving Hove councillor, had travelled to Normandy to pay his respects on the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Tiago said he would like Javier Bardem to play him in The Great Escaper

Tiago, 30, said that he remembers the events of that day very well and was both “relieved and astonished” when Bernard was found safe and well in France.

He said: “He would go and buy a newspaper every morning and come back to our home at about 1pm or sometimes 3pm.

“On that day we started to get a bit worried. He had told me that morning ‘oh I’m going to France’ and he was quite a character and quite a joker, so I just said, ‘oh I’ll meet you there.’

“We did all panic, but we had some peace of mind that he was safe. As you could see, the lovely gentleman would not take no for an answer.

“I was surprised a 90-year-old was able to take all the transport necessary to get to Normandy and manage themselves to get inside the ferry.

“It was surprising but in the end we all rooting for him.”

Glenda Jackson will star alongside Sir Michael as Bernard’s wife Irene.

Oliver Parker will direct the film which is set to begin filming in June.

When asked who he wanted to play him in The Great Escaper, Tiago laughed and said: “I’m not sure but I am Portuguese, so maybe Javier Bardem.”