Nine year old Local schoolgirl Hatty, posing on the set of the film 'Madeline', Hatty portrays the beloved French schoolgirl in the film version of the children's classic. The film should be released in England shortly.

HATTY THE LONDON STAR
WITH LITTLE GIRL POWER

With her ginger hair and "girl power" attitude, 10-year-old Londoner Hatty Jones could be an ideal Spice Girl replacement for Geri Halliwell. Although a little on the small and young side, Hatty has shown she is feisty enough for the group through the American hit film Madeline, in which she plays the title role.

The movie, which went straight into the top 10 in the US and has made more than $20 million in its first three weeks, is based on the Madeline books about an adventurous girl growing up. To publicise the film, Hatty, from Muswell Hill, appeared on the David Letterman show in America with the Spice Girls. "It was great to meet them and very exciting," she said. "They were very nice to me. I'm a big fan."

For the release of the film in the US, Hatty was given her own Internet website to answer e-mail from new fans. The film - which also features Nigel Hawthorne and Frances McDormand, who won a Best Actress Oscar for Fargo - is set in a school in Fifties Paris.

Fiona Mogridge, Hatty's drama teacher and agent, said: "In the film, Hatty is like a Fifties Spice Girl, with Fifties girl power. It's her first film, but she is a natural. "The studio wanted someone brave, inquisitive, but cute and small for her age. She went to four auditions and a screen test. When it came down to the screen test it was between her and an American girl.  "I thought the American would get the part. Studios usually prefer them because America is the main market. "But we were delighted when Hatty beat 4,000 other girls to the role. From the fan mail, Americans identify very well with her. Some have even stopped her in the street in London."

When Hatty heard the film-makers were interested, she turned down a smaller part in a BBC series so she could be available. She started acting classes with Ms Mogridge three years ago at The Arts Academy, an after-school drama club in Highgate.

Before Madeline, her only acting experience had been at school and with the club.

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