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Michael Caine is releasing his first novel.

The 90-year-old actor - who has previously written two memoirs - has put pen to paper on a thriller titled 'Deadly Game', which will be published by Hodder + Stoughton in November and follows DCI Harry Taylor, a former SAS soldier turned Metropolitan Police detective, who uncovers a high-level criminal enterprise.

He said in a statement: “It’s been my ambition for years to write a thriller. It’s the genre I most love to read, and I’ve really got a buzz out of working on 'Deadly Game' and teaming up with Hodder once again to publish it. I hope readers enjoy getting to know Harry Taylor as much as I did.”

The 'Zulu' actor said he came up with the plot after reading in the news about two rubbish collectors who discovered uranium at a dump in east London, and a synopsis seen by The Times newspaper states Taylor is “called in when just such a package is found, mysteriously abandoned in Stepney and stolen before the police can reclaim it."

The description continues: "As security agencies around the world go to red alert, it is former SAS man Harry and his small team from the Met who must race against time to find who has the nuclear material and what they plan to do with it.”

The outlet noted the saga "involves neo-Nazis, Colombian drug cartels, Russian billionaires and an aristocratic English art dealer."

Nick Sayers, publisher, said: “When I met Sir Michael last year, I discovered that he is not only a lifelong reader of thrillers, but also an author bursting with ideas for fiction of his own. Deadly Game is a cracking thriller with a real voice and a super twist.”

The 'Great Escaper' actor previously revealed he had started writing his novel, which was initially titled 'If You Don't Want to Die', during lockdown.

He told the Guardian newspaper in 2021: “I only read thrillers. I’m an adventure man, I’m not a literature person, so I’m not trying to replace Shakespeare here.

“But it’s based on something I once read about two dustmen, two rubbish collectors in the East End . . . and they find uranium in the rubbish.”