Pop superstar George Michael has learned he wasn't the first choice to play actor Jonny Lee Miller's musical conscience in quirky new TV show Eli Stone - producers approached Phil Collins before him.

The Faith singer, who appears to Miller's troubled lawyer character in dream sequences, reveals he wasn't television bosses go-to guy because they felt sure he'd turn them down.

Michael says, "Apparently, the studio didn't think I'd say yes. They wrote it for Phil Collins, I think."

But producers needn't have fretted - Michael accepted the job as soon as they offered it to him.

He adds, "They said they wanted to name each episode after a song of mine. It's all flattering to the ego, isn't it?"

Eli Stone debuts in America on January 31.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)