Lily Cole, the supermodel with a double first from Cambridge, has brought the house down at the Old Vic with her new-found acting and singing talents.
With only hours to rehearse, she added stagecraft to her CV alongside beauty and brains, triumphing with West End stars Janie Dee and Ruthie Henshall in a short new musical for The 24 Hour Plays, the theatre's fundraiser last night.
"If I had really thought about it logically it would have been so terrifying, I would have frozen," said Cole, 23. "I just rolled with it. I had a really fun time. I didn't expect to be in that company. But I felt really, really honoured to get to work with these two women for a day."
Producer Kate Pakenham declared her performance "a revelation - she's a real star". Henshall played Cole's aunt, a tanning salon owner who advises the famously pale model: "You could be so pretty - you know - with a bit more colour."
The 24 Hour Plays is an annual event in which six plays are written, rehearsed and performed in just 24 hours. Last night's line-up included Anthony Head, Gina McKee, Jane Asher, Julian Sands, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Robert Glenister, Rachael Stirling and Mackenzie Crook.
Rob Brydon, compere for the evening, revealed he would love to bring The Painkiller, in which he recently starred with Kenneth Branagh in Belfast, to London.
Brendan Coyle, Downton Abbey's valet John Bates, brought a flower from the funeral on Friday of prop-maker Les Harrison, father of his best friend.
The evening, which concuded with an after show party at the Corinthia Hotel, raised about £150,000 towards the upkeep of the Old Vic and its education work.
