Colleagues of Burton Mail deputy news editor Jason Davies were stunned when they heard he had got hitched during a secret ceremony at the town’s Coors museum.

Staff thought they had missed a scoop on their doorstep when a picture of Jason, tying the knot with pretty Hannah Mason, arrived on the newsdesk.

But before they could organise a whip round for a wedding present, the 35-year-old amateur thespian decided to set the record straight.

Jason (far right) and the rest of the wedding party

“It would have been useful having a new toaster and kettle, but I owed it to my colleagues to be frank,” he told HoldtheFrontPage.

“In fact I was taking part in the re-enactment of a Victorian double wedding, organised by the website www.headlinehistory.co.uk during a Victorian Day at the Coors Visitor’s Centre.

“I took the part of Henry Crofts, a 28-year-old teacher, while fellow Little Theatre Company member Hannah played my bride, Burton girl Mary-Jane Walters.”

About a dozen members of the Little Theatre Company are among actors and actresses who appear as historical characters on the website Headline History, produced by Northcliffe Electronic Publishing, and so were the natural choice to play characters at the wedding.

Jason – who wasn’t around when filming for the website took place – was roped in after cutting his acting teeth as a member of the Company for the last 12 months.

He is currently learning his lines as Bob Cratchit in Scrooge – The Musical, so he wasn’t too flummoxed when presented with his script for the Victorian wedding.

He said: “All I had to say was ‘I do’.”

NEP project manager Elaine Pritchard, is also a member of the Little Theatre.

She said: “The Coors Centre knew about my involvement in Headline History and asked if we’d go along and promote the Victorian aspect of it.

“Then they also asked me if I could organise a re-enactment of a Victorian wedding, as a sort of live Victorian fashion show and some music hall entertainment.”