Lisa's trek for stardom

Beautiful English actress Lisa Dillon, 24, and Stewart, 63, appeared together in an electrifying production of Ibsen's The Master Builder, which ran for a season in the West End this summer - just as the actor's second marriage to producer Wendy Neuss was unravelling.

Stewart spent 23 years with the RSC and played many major roles before decamping for the U.S., where he gained fame as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

He suggested that Ms Dillon, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, should try for parts at the RSC.

She recently landed a major role as Desdemona in Othello, opposite Antony Sher as Iago and Sello Maake ka Ncube in the title role.

The production will open at the RSC's Swan Theatre in Stratford in February.

Ms Dillon and Mr Stewart were much praised for their performances in The Master Builder - he played the architect who becomes obsessed with a young woman many decades his junior.

Several critics remarked upon the extraordinary chemistry between the pair on stage.

When Stewart let it be known that he and and his wife of three years had broken up, some folks in the West End presumed, wrongly, that he had started a relationship with Ms Dillon.

Stewart's spokeswoman Kelly Bush commented from Los Angeles last night: 'They are friends and enjoyed working together.

'But there's no truth to anything else you are suggesting. They are just friends.'

Well, I'm glad that has been cleared up!

Some people were even telling me that Ms Dillon and Mr Stewart were spotted together in New York.

Those of us who saw Ms Dillon - who also has a small role in Stephen Fry's film Bright Young Things - and Mr Stewart in The Master Builder are thrilled that she is well on her way to theatrical stardom.