Smash hit film debut for Bolton actor

AN actor from Bolton has been tripping along red carpets after appearing as a co-star in the new smash hit film Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.

And Lauren Patel’s friends at Bolton Sixth Form College could not be more proud of the 20-year-old, who appears opposite Max Harwood in the blockbuster.

A whirlwind publicity tour has already seen Lauren attend premieres in Sheffield and London’s Royal Festival Hall but she’s taking it in her stride.

A Bolton Sixth Form spokesman said: “Huge congratulations to previous B6 student Lauren Patel on her film debut.

“Lauren plays a key role as Pritti Pasha in the screen version of the stage musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.

“Lauren, now 20, studied performing arts, music and media studies here at Bolton Sixth Form Bolton after leaving Smithills School.

“ This is an outstanding achievement, dreams really do come true sometimes.”

Interviewed by Granada TV, Lauren has recalled how she ended up auditioning for the role of Pritti “while putting off her BTEC homework”.

She added: “I saw an open audition online and I thought ‘oh I'lI send a video in’, and obviously I wasn’t going to hear back from it.

“Then 20 days later I got the job, then a month later it was my first day on set with Max (Harwood) and Richard E Grant.”

The film, co-starring Sarah Lancashire and fellow former Coronation Strete alumni Shobna Gulati, revolves around the story of Jamie Campbell, a Durham schoolboy who battles classroom prejudice as he fights to attend his prom night in drag.

Lauren already has a further film role in the pipeline, she says, and has been doing voice artiste work for Aardman Animations.

But she’s clear about how much her first silver screen role means to her.

“Now we’ve made the movie and I feel like I blinked and my entire life has changed,” she said.

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