Swayze heading back to work

Patrick Swayze is taking time out of cancer treatment to star in a new US TV show.

The 55-year-old actor, currently battling cancer of the pancreas, will travel to Chicago, Illinois this summer to shoot 'The Beast', after the show was commissioned by America's A&E network.

Swayze - who will play an undercover FBI agent - says: "I have searched for quite a long time to find a character that is this multi-layered, unpredictable and downright entertaining, as well as a project this current and cutting edged.

"Chicago is an amazing, untapped city. I can't wait to get to work on this."

Swayze is being treated at California's Stanford University Medical Center after he was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.