WHY IAN CHOSE ANTIQUES TO THE STARDOM OF DYNASTY

British TV's latest heart-throb Ian McShane has revealed he turned down 40,000 dollars an episode to play Blake Carrington's long-lost brother in DYNASTY ... So that he could concentrate on LOVEJOY, the tale of an East Anglian antiques dealer.

The 43-year-old actor was approached by the glamour soap opera's creator Aaron Spelling but twice turned down a lucrative two year contract. He preferred instead to work for a fraction of the money with the BBC on the popular new Friday series which reveals the inside world of antiques and auction rooms. Ian admitted: "I would have been set up for life if I'd taken the Dynasty part, but I didn't want to get involved in that show. I was intent on playing Lovejoy from the moment I read the books - the money wasn't important. The trouble with soaps like Dynasty is that they tie actors down for too long and their attraction is petering out."