West End musical star Danielle Hope has sent the young thespians at Greenbank Preparatory School a good luck message ahead of their production of The Sound of Music.

Danielle, from Urmston, was first spotted by the Stockport school’s Director of Drama Adele Firth when she was a year seven pupil appearing in Knutsford High School’s production of Grease.

Adele, a former Coronation Street actress, who has been running theatre schools across Cheshire for the last two decades, said: “Straight away you could see what a talent and I persuaded her to come to my theatre school to develop that potential.

Sure enough, she later applied for and won the BBC’s “Over the Rainbow’ television audition series and has gone on to star as Dorothy in the West End.

Now Danielle has told the Greenbank players ‘to think big, dream big and enjoy every moment ‘s their production of The Sound of Music.

Adele said: “We aren’t putting on a sentimental version of this production but a more gritty and realistic production that highlights the very real fears of living in Nazi ruled Austria before the outbreak of the Second World War.

“The children are studying that war in history and this piece does show the contrast between the world of the monastery and the growing terror out in the community.”

Emily Booker, who plays Maria, said: “It was such a thrill to read the letter from Danielle that has really given us all something to live up too.”

Adele concluded: “I wanted to show the children that this isn’t just a school production but could be the start of something big. Who’s to say one of them won’t follow Danielle and the many others I have worked with, into the profession.”