FORMER supermarket shelf stacker David Bowers could have relished the moment a line manager told him his future lay beyond the humble section of detergents and into the world of retail management.

But, instead of carving out a career at Tesco on Exchange Street in Macclesfield, he went on to become a top Hollywood movie director having just released his first blockbuster with the animated smash-hit film "Flushed Away".

David, 40, who used to live in Bollington, said: "I used to work at Tesco on soap powder and pet foods and they told me I had the potential to go onto sauces and pickles - but that wasn't for me."

Although he did enjoy those days among the bread and biscuits, he admitted to finding showbiz a little more exciting.

But the former Poynton High School pupil insisted his inspiration came from sitting in Macclesfield's old Majestic cinema.

Stockport-born, David, a Gawsworth 200 Club member - a weekly raffle with a flat rate paid by entrants - said: "The Majestic was a cracking old cinema. That building housed all my influences and I was very sad to see it close."

The inspiration paid off as the dad-of-one's directorial debut, the story of a rich rat flushed into the sewers of London, has grossed nearly $130 million.

The married animator went from imitating Morph, the plasticine model from 'Take Hart' on Super 8 film at school, to working on "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" within a matter of years.

David said, tongue in cheek: "Hollywood is quite similar to Macclesfield, it's just a bit bigger and doesn't rain as much."

The highlight of David's debut directing Flushed Away was putting his dad, Ray, a retired headteacher, into celluloid as an England centre forward who gets knocked unconscious playing against Germany.

Ray, of Mereside Close, Macclesfield, said: "I've always wanted to play for England and to appear in film is a dream come true."

But things could have been very different for David, who spent his early years in the Solomon Islands, if the managers at Tesco had their way and promoted him.

A Tesco spokesman said: "Some people do well within retail and other people do well in the animation and film industry. We wish him all the best."

David may now live among the bright lights of Los Angeles, but remains true to his roots.

He is still a member of the Gawsworth 200 Club, which his dad Ray runs, and admits to still being excited by a win - which his father sends to him in dollars.