Arnold Schwarzenegger to star in new TV show

Los Angeles: Hollywood action star Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to return to bodybuilding in new TV series `Pump`, set in the 70s and based around a gym in California`s Venice Beach.

The 65-year-old former politician has sold the rights for the TV series to US cable network Showtime, the Hollywood Reporter said. \An hour-long drama is being made into a pilot, set in 1970s Venice Beach, California, tracing the origins of the present-day fitness industry and culture of body worship to one gym called Pump. If the series gets the go-ahead, Schwarzenegger is planned to become a recurring character. Executive producer Eric Tannenbaum said he was excited when the idea was brought to him by writer Michael Konyves. "We loved it, but I said the only way you can really tell this story is if we can get Arnold involved. The birth of the fitness/bodybuilding revolution can literally be traced back to the days when Arnold arrived in the US," Tannenbaum said. Schwarzenegger started weight training aged 15 and moved to the US in 1968, a year after winning the amateur Mr Universe bodybuilding title. He then went on to win the professional Mr Universe title three times, and the Mr Olympia title seven times. He is widely regarded as the most influential figure in the history of bodybuilding. Schwarzenegger first broke into Hollywood in 1970, but didn`t achieve great fame until starring in weightlifting film `Pumping Iron` in 1977. PTI