Action man Steve's bitten by the Bugs.

Actor Steven Houghton is set for the biggest gamble of his career after quitting the highly-successful London's Burning for the sci-fi thriller Bugs.

The 27-year-old is stepping into the shoes of muscle-bound Aussie star Craig McLachlan, who has left the BBC series to try his luck in Hollywood.

But trained dancer and gymnast Steven has no worries about taking on the role of tough guy Ed.

He said: "I was about to sign next year's contract with London's Burning when the script for Bugs arrived. I tried working out whether I could do both but the filming schedules crossed too much.

"So I sat down at home and I wrote down a list of the pros and cons of each show.

"Top of the pro list was that there were three stars in Bugs and nine in London's Burning.

"The character of Ed in Bugs was so different to my role as Gregg Blake in London's Burning.

"I want to try different things and not be stuck doing one role, year in year out, that would be boring."

Steven's stint in Bugs is likely to be anything but boring.

In the first few episodes of the new series Ed becomes even more of an action man, with realistic fist-fights and spectacular stunts.

The main reason for the big change is that Steven isn't following Jason Donovan in Neighbours or Todd Carty in EastEnders by replacing another actor in the same role.

Steven feels he brings something new to the part, with Ed being a code name like 007 or Dr Who.

Steven said: "Craig and I are completely different people. For a start I haven't got permed hair.

"He's Australian and I'm from Sheffield. We are also very different actors.

"But it's great to get the chance to play an action hero.

"I'm a physical person so I enjoy all the jumping around and I like to do all my own stunts."

His new bosses took him at his word and his first scene was shot in a helicopter above London.

Steven knows it will take time to win the fans over to his side.

But he hopes that his commitment in giving up London's Burning to land the Bugs role, and his own will to win, will see him through.

He said: "I wanted to be a professional athlete.

"At school I was the big name so I went for regional trials. That's when I realised I wasn't nearly good enough."

As a gymnast his natural ability led to a dance course at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds.

From there he went into acting and singing, combining the two to star in West End musicals Cats and Martin Guerre.

His big telly break came last year in London's Burning and he will now cement his reputation as a versatile actor in Bugs which stars Jesse Birdsall as Beckett and Jaye Griffiths as Ros.

Tonight's opener follows directly from the nail-biting cliff-hanger end to the third series - the mysterious disappearance of Ros.

Steven is already proving that he won't be pigeon-holed.

Last year was a roller-coaster ride for the charming star.

He started off singing in Martin Guerre, after six years in various London stage shows.

And his background as a singer helped him when he joined the cast of London's Burning.

Steven sang Wind Beneath My Wings as the background tune in an episode when his character failed to save a baby from a blaze and then broke up with his girlfriend .

The song was then released as single and reached Number Three in the charts, opening the door for Steven to follow in the footsteps of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Natalie Imbruglia and Britain's Robson and Jerome.

They became number one pop stars after performing Unchained Melody at the end of an episode of Soldier, Soldier.

And RCA, the record company which made Robson and Jerome millionaires, have also signed up Steven. But he prefers to concentrate on his acting career at present.

And he gets angry at suggestions that actors trying their hand at singing are just a gimmick to make money for the record companies.

He said: "It really aggravates me when people say that. I spent years and years training to be a singer, but got my big break as an actor. So that means I'm an actor who sings and not the other way round.

"I wouldn't knock pop stars trying to act. And it doesn't help when a pop star, whom I won't name, mocked me in an article and said I wasn't a pop singer.

"But I don't see myself as a pop singer. I want to act and do some singing.

"And the reason I went to dance school rather than drama college is I've always seen myself as an all-round entertainer rather than just an actor."

Although Steven sees his career at the moment in acting, he won't turn his back of singing and will be on the look-out for new producers and writers to work with later in the year.

For the time being he is concentrating on spending time with his girlfriend Sam - who was in the year below him at his Leeds dance school - and their- two-year old son Daniel.

The couple moved from Leeds to London so he could pursue his acting career.

But he admits that the move was a bit of a wrench.

Steven said: "I miss the fact that when we go out we can't just get the grandparents round to baby- sit for the evening.

"But I like London and I've kind of got used to it."