Starlight star finds her feet

A self-confessed "complete novice" on roller skates, Helen Latham is having a spot of bother adjusting to her latest role in Starlight Express, the musical-on-wheels now in its 18th year.

"I fell over five times today. It has been one of those days," she said ruefully, after bruising encounters during rehearsals for her debut in the show at the Victoria Palace.

"I have still got a little lump on my chin from where I hit the floor last time. But we are well protected elsewhere with knee and elbow pads.

"I did once have a pair of roller skates when I was 11. I just about made it from the table to the cooker and that was it. So it's a big challenge, and I've got a long way to go."

Fortunately, she and the other new arrivals in the cast, who include Mark McGee and Jo Gibb, late of Whistle Down the Wind and Cats respectively, still have two weeks to get their act together.

Born in Preston, Helen came to London at 18 to train at Mountview Theatre School and counts herself "an adopted Londoner".

Now 25, she's probably best known for her Brookside role as saucy teacher Jayne Ferris, who seduced the caretaker in the stockroom.

On stage the range of roles she's played include, a lap-dancer who didn't strip in the National Theatre's The Villains Opera to the lead part in Cinderella at Hackney Empire.

Despite her tumbles, she relishes the challenges of Starlight. "At least," she says, "the singing comes a lot easier."