Harborough dancer's dream West End debut

Because on Saturday she had a stage debut to dream about - in Cinderella at the world-famous London Palladium.

Charlotte (22), from Tur Langton, near Market Harborough, is one of just eight female dancers in the smash hit show, that stars Paul O’Grady, Amanda Holden and Julian Clary. It’s her first proper stage job.

“It’s amazing!” said a happy Charlotte. “I’m having the time of my life. I have to keep pinching myself.

“The opening night was on Saturday and we had two standing ovations. It’s a complete smash hit!”

Charlotte is a former pupil of Church Langton Primary School, The Kibworth School and Robert Smyth Academy.

She started dancing at the age of two, trained by Harborough Academy of Performing Arts and Leicestershire Arts in Education, before a dance degree at London Studio Centre.

Then disaster - “I tore a disc in my back, and was out for six months” said Charlotte. “I wasn’t sure if I could recover from it at one point.”

But she did recover, and now she’s in her dream production with her dream choreographer, Andrew Wright.

“I’m learning such a lot” said Charlotte. “And everyone’s so lovely. Amanda Holden makes a point of introducing herself to everyone - and she brings in cakes!”

“Paul O’Grady’s amazing, and his ad-libbing is fantastic - you never know what’s going to come out of his mouth. And Julian Clary is just a star; his comic timing is perfect.”

As for the job, “it’s very intense - I’ve got nine costume changes - but it’s what I’ve wanted to do, since I was two.

“And on Saturday night an excited three-year-old asked me for my autograph. That was lovely.”