Anna shines at premiere

Anna Friel has come a long way since cutting her acting teeth as lesbian Beth Jordache in TV's Brookside. Now she's really getting the hang of movie premieres, managing to borrow £250,000 of diamonds and making a spectacular dress change between the premiere and the party afterwards.

Miss Friel arrived at the Evening Standard-sponsored premiere of Me Without You in Leicester Square in a chic red Armani dress ... after a short trip home, she changed into a black Armani trouser and dress suit to go to the Opium club in Dean Street, Soho. Friel showed off £250,000 worth of De Beers' stones in the form of a neckless and bracelet - though she did admit that she was "too scared" to wear the matching earrings. With her were her partner, actor David Thewlis, and her co-star Trudie Styler with her husband Sting.

Miss Styler plays Anna Friel's mother in the film, which is a drama about two best friends growing up on the outskirts of London in the Seventies.

She said she performed so badly that she was expecting Sting to divorce her: "I didn't have a huge amount of pressure on me in the film - what I seemed to be doing most of the time was costume changes. It is a very strong script and was intelligently written."

But Sting was very complimentary. He said: "Trudie's great at playing herself - or at least a version of herself. I'm here to support her - and she supports me when it is my turn. That's the way it is."

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