A YOGA instructor gave up his Hollywood heritage to help the elderly hot up their hips in Bolton.

Seeing Anthony Ashley now, it is hard to believe the calm instructor was once part of the bustling entertainment industry.

In fact, the 53-year-old flew 5,456 miles around the world to escape the LA rat-race.

Now a teaching yoga to members of Age UK, the dad-of-one used to be an associate producer and assistant director in Los Angeles working on programmes like the new Hawaii 5-0, Smallville, The Good Wife and Revenge.

As well as holding his own long career, his parents were also well-known Hollywood names.

He said: "Both my parents were in the entertainment industry. My father John Ashley was an actor turned producer, he produced The A Team.

"My mother Deborah Walley was an actress then later began to write and did a lot of theatre work. She's particularly know as being Gidget in the Gidget films. She was in a film with Elvis Presley.

"I met Elvis when I was a baby and he sung songs to me. My mother wrote a book about their relationship. They were really close friends, they were like brother and sister and had a lot of conversations about spirituality and religion."

His mother was once quoted in a magazine that she wanted her boy to be a "movie star".

While his face did feature in the likes of the 1980s series Werewolf, Anthony's biggest role was behind the scenes working up from a technician to assistant editor.

The glamour of Hollywood might seem alluring to some but the long hours and demand of studios and big wigs became too much.

Anthony explains: "It is a very demanding occupation, you were subject to the demands of of higher powers who don't care how things get done, they just want it done.

"You end up working 100-hour weeks and there were times I had no time off over 21 days and more.

"It really wears you down and I started to think there had to be more than this."

Anthony's mother met Elvis during the filming of 1966 film Spinout, in which they both starred, and found a joint passion in spirituality and religion.

It was this passion which inspired her son when his health was failing to turn to yoga and to re-evaluate what he wanted from life.

Then in 2014, the family - which includes wife Celia, who was working as a teacher in LA, and daughter Eloise, now aged five - decided to make a move.

He said: "My wife's family live in Bromley Cross and we were both looking for a drastic change in our lives.

"We sold half our staff, shipped the other half, and moved to England."

Once here Ashley spent three years training to become a yoga instructor and has now set up his own business, Yoga Thrive.

Setting up a partnership with Age UK, he can now be found running weekly sessions every Wednesday at Thicketford House Community Care Centre in Tonge Moor.

It has become a rolling success and he has now added an extra Monday group at Elderdale Community Centre in Breightmet which is open to everyone.

Anthony adds: "I am finding it really awarding seeing people benefit, that's what given me the motivation to expand and help more people.

"The entertainment industry can often be thankless, you work on a programme and your reward is seeing it on television but there is so much pressure and long hours, that's why I decided to walk away.

"It now feels really good to look forward to a class and seeing the results from the people who come along."

To find out more email info@yogathrive.co.uk or visit www.yogathrive.co.uk.