Mark Wahlberg to expand burger chain to U.K.

Mark Wahlberg's burger chain is heading to the U.K.

The actor and brothers, New Kids on the Block singer Donnie and chef Paul, launched Wahlburgers last year (11) in their native Boston, Massachusetts and the restaurant has become such a huge success, The Departed star is set to take his high-class burgers to Britain and Ireland.

He says, "We do higher-end burgers. Yesterday, we sold 1,300. It's run by my brother, Paul, who is a five-star chef. We're opening a bunch of them in Britain and Ireland this year."

And the movie star admits he is stunned by the success of the fast food chain - although he always knew food fans would love his chef brother's recipes.

He adds, "When I first mentioned the idea of Wahlburgers, people were like, 'Oh my God, that's a stupid idea.'

"What they don't realise is how talented my brother is. I would never risk putting my name out there in a way that would end up being bad. You can get people to show up because of the name but they are going to come back because they like the food.

"A successful burger place takes maybe $2,400 a day. A really successful one does $6,000. We're making $17,000 a day. There are lines queuing around the corner."