FILM director Danny Boyle shared his passion for a good book with school pupils when he made a low-key visit to his home town.

The Radcliffe-born celebrity has become a global star since Slumdog Millionaire scooped eight Oscars earlier this year.

But according to Danny, his love of story-telling began when he started reading novels in Radcliffe Library as a young boy.

So, on Monday, he made an exclusive visit to the library, where he talked to schoolchildren about his career.

Unlike recent visits — including an appearance at Bury Town Hall to receive the Freedom of the Borough — the event was a private affair, especially for youngsters and staff from St Mary’s Primary School and Radcliffe Riverside High School.

He talked to bright-eyed pupils about the importance of reading and writing and how it has helped him to become an award-winning director.

Children were ready with questions, from what it feels like to be a millionaire to what makes him cry.

Riverside pupil Chloe Stevenson-Deakin, aged 11, asked Danny if he ever gets bored directing.

He said he sometimes does because it can take 45 minutes to shoot a one or two-minute scene, but it was all part of the job.

Chloe said: “It has been really fun. I never thought I would get the chance to meet someone who has directed all these brilliant films.”

Bradley Huxter, aged 10, a pupil at St Mary’s, said: “The best thing is how you can start from something so little in a book to something so big on the screen.”

Danny talked about his favourite writers when he was young, including Ian Fleming and Graham Greene.

He said: “There is something extraordinary about being able to express yourself, and the freedom that can give you — that relationship between you and a book, no one gets in between that.”

To commemorate the visit, Danny was presented with a framed photograph of the old library by libraries manager Jane Barkess, as well as extracts from the Bury Times on the date of his birth.

After the talk, he confirmed to the Radcliffe Times that his next film will be “127 hours”, which he is due to begin filming in January.

He said: “It is about a guy who gets trapped in a canyon in Utah — it is an extraordinary story.”And about the Best Director Oscar, which he famously carried in a blue plastic bag to show to friends at St Mary’s Catholic Social Club, Danny said: “I don’t have it on display.

“I keep it in a box because I felt silly having it out every day and getting up every morning to see this gold guy staring back at me.”