On New Years Day 2005 Anna received a letter confirming her place at
The Royal Academy of Music and very excitedly moved down to London the following September to start her year of intense singing, acting, dancing and jazzhands training. During her time at The Academy Anna played many roles and managed to secure an agent by graduation.

In the following months Anna sent out millions of CVs and generally begged every Tom, Dick and Harry to employ her. She did lots of short films, music and corporate videos to gain screen experience and this all came to fruition when she landed her debut TV role for ‘Holby City’. Anna played ‘Annie West’, a teenager so badly burnt in a car accident that even her own mother couldn’t recognise her (oh the glamour). This involved 3 hours of make up everyday and having to be escorted to and from set so that they could warn people that it was just make up and she was OK!

Summer 07 saw lots of sun, sea and singing for Anna when she was offered a 6 month contract singing in a hotel in Portugal. She has many fond memories during this time making lots of good friends and singing West End style shows, compeering nights and playing welly wanging with the 50 year old + guests.

Anna’s next job was with the opera company Pimlico Opera, who she has now worked with three times, in Portsmouth Prison performing ‘Sweeney Todd The Musical’ alongside a selection of inmates. She was slightly terrified at the prospect of being in close proximity with 12 murderers (and not really calmed by one of the first comments from them being ‘well at least we have first hand experience’ when talking about the theme of the show!) but has always had an amazing experience in all the shows (Westside Story Jan 09 and Carmen Jan 10) and found the change in prisoners from start to finish astonishing and very heart warming.

These shows are performed to the public and inmates friends and family and received glowing reviews in The Observer, The Guardian and The Financial Times. Anna was slightly gutted during her first performance of ‘Westside Story’ to 250 prisoners during her entrance as ‘Velma’ head girl of the jets was greeted by a shout of ‘4 out of 10’ by one of the audience members who most probably hadn’t seen a girl for a very long time. Anna blames this on the dodgy wig she had to wear.

It was just after the first prison project that Anna was invited to audition for a new TV comedy pilot called ‘The Gemma Factor’. After falling in love with the script, she went to audition for the role of ‘Nell’ all gothed up to the nines and was delighted when Janet Hampson the casting director asked her to degoth and read for the part of ‘Gemma’. She was asked to travel up to Manchester for the recalls and met already cast Ross Adams and immediately hit it off with him with Geordie banter and the realisation that they had both been oot on the Toon in Buffolooo Jooooes. A few weeks later Anna found herself on set having the time of her life in Hebden Bridge.

The waiting then began to find out if the pilot would be commissioned for a series by the BBC. After months of sitting on her reception desk checking her phone every 10 seconds the phonecall arrived confirming that The Gemma Factor would be made into a series but the BBC would like to reaudition the role of Gemma to secure a named actress for the part. This meant that Anna had to carry on waiting and auditioning to prove that she was the girl for the job which finally, in May 09 it was announced that she would be. Anna screamed the house down on receiving this news and tried to fool her housemates into thinking she hadn’t got it but failed as she couldn’t stop smiling.

During this time Anna also performed in the musical ‘Mack and Mabel’ at
The Broadway Theatre, Catford. A profit share production saw all cast members skint towards an inch of their lives but they all got on so amazingly well sharing some brilliant times and brilliant reviews! Anna played ‘Ella’ the studio pianist and had the challenge of playing the piano and saxophone, tap dancing and doing forward rolls in keystone cops – luckily not all at once!
From the tight friendship the cast made on this show they decided to put together a musical theatre troupe ‘The Tootsie Rollers’ that Anna still performs with in and around London on the cabaret scene.