Master butcher John Dell got a sizzling film role when director Martin Scorsese recruited him to help out on the set of his latest blockbuster.

John was chosen to train actor Daniel Day-Lewis in butchery for his role as Bill the Butcher in Gangs Of New York.

He lived a life of luxury during filming on set in Italy. He was picked up from home every day in a chauffeur-driven limousine and offered every comfort he could ask for.

John, who has lived with his wife Linda and three children near Uckfield for the past 20 years, even had a small part in the film. But he is modest about his new celebrity friends.

He said: "Daniel is quite amazing. We had some meals together. We had some steaks that he had cut and then got the restaurant to cook.

"I taught him basic butchery as well as sharpening the knife. It was something he really wanted to do.

"The knife I gave him is the one he uses in the film. I got on so well with Daniel I gave it to him. He was impressed."

John was asked to train Day-Lewis by one of the film producers who had been a regular customer at his shop in Peckham, London, for years.

He initially turned down the offer, thinking he would not have the time as he ran the shop on his own.

However, the producer persisted and John spent nine months flying back and forth to the studios.

"They came back to me and said they really wanted me. They flew me out from Gatwick in first-class seats.

"That was more than two years ago. They kept it as a very close secret and I had to sign secrecy papers so I couldn't talk about it."

Day-Lewis spent hours learning how to sharpen a knife and cut meat just like a real butcher.

John said he was an eager student, with Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Amsterdam Vallon, watching and keen to learn as well.

"Daniel was a great guy. He really spoilt me. Leonardo was as good as gold. He was ever so nice and he really was a good bloke. I was teaching Daniel but Leonardo was watching.

In one scene Day-Lewis tells DiCaprio he likes working with pigs because they are very close to humans in terms of skin thickness.

He goes on to show the best way to kill or maim a man by using the knife.

John began training as a butcher in London when he was 14. HIs skills led to him being given a very small part in the film.

He said: "I had on all the uniform that a butcher would have worn."