Daniel O'Donnell makes spooky acting debut in short horror film Night of the Daniels

The short film, which has just premiered on YouTube, is set to go viral and is tipped to be one of Daniel’s biggest ever hit videos.

In The Night of the Daniels, the Donegal-born singing superstar is tasked with the challenge of saving the town of Dungloe and its inhabitants when scary waxwork Daniels in the local museum come to life and go on the attack.

Daniel says he was game for a laugh and loves the fact that the movie pokes fun at him as he’s seen fixing his hair with hairspray before going out to do battle on horseback.

And despite being armed with various arsenal it turns out that his singing might just be his secret weapon.

Shaun Doogan and Ciaran McCann of Re-Act Productions, who made The Night of the Daniels, are also the talented team behind Daniel’s previous viral hit, Down at the Lah De Dah.

Daniel says: “Is there an acting career ahead of me? I don’t know the first thing about acting, to be honest, but Shaun Doogan and Ciaran McCann, who put the whole thing together, have made me look like I do.

“Actors watching it will probably say, ‘Well, that’s not acting!’ But I suppose it is a wee bit of acting, and in my concerts I have always enjoyed doing specials such as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Show and The Christmas Show which have had a drama element to them.”

Daniel says he is always open to taking on new challenges, and would love a cameo role in the Coronation Street soap.

“To be getting the opportunity to do new things at the age of 60 is just amazing to me,” he admits. “I particularly enjoyed everything about The Night of the Daniels. I loved the whole experience of filming the scenes and then it was so exciting to watch it back when it was edited.

Daniel, who has also joined the TikTok video platform, will next weekend release a brand new album, I Wish You Well, which features 10 new songs by some of his favourite songwriters.

It’s a mix of up-tempo songs and ballads, including two Michael Bublé-esque tunes - Under A Spell of Loving You, written by Fergal Flaherty, and Always There by Brendan Graham and Rolf Lovland, the duo behind You Raise Me Up.

The album also features two songs by P.J. Murrihy, I’m Grateful and Plains Of Old Kildare. Sean O’Farrell wrote If You Believe and Once You Have Loved The Best, and Patsy Cavanagh who, wrote Daniel’s first big hit My Donegal Shore, contributed the title track, I Wish You Well.

•DON’T miss this week’s Sunday World newspaper for exclusive behind-the-scene photos from the making of The Night of the Daniels.