A Westcliff star has shared her excitement after a poster for her first musical went up next to her old primary school.

Maisie Smith is set to star in her first ever musical debut with her role in Strictly Ballroom at the Cliffs Pavilion in March.

Maisie appears as Fran in the musical which will be in Southend from March 20 to 25.  

And the former Chalkwell Junior School pupil shared her joy with her Instagram followers as she spotted a poster for the musical up next to her old primary school.

The star posted an Instagram story of the huge promotional poster in London Road next to the James Browning and Daughter shop, just steps away from her former junior school.

She captioned it: "Feels pretty amazing to see a poster of me in my first musical right next to my old primary school."

Maisie shot to fame as a six-year-old playing cheeky EastEnders character Tiffany Dean - the youngest daughter of Bianca Jackson, played by Patsy Palmer.

She attended Belfairs Academy and the Sandra Singer Stage School, both in Leigh. She also studied musical theatre at South Essex College.

The part in Strictly Ballroom will see her reunited with Kevin Clifton, who she was a previous champion with in the Strictly Come Dancing Children in Need Special 2019.

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Strictly Ballroom The Musical tells the story of Scott Hastings (played by Kevin), a talented, arrogant and rebellious young ballroom dancer and dance partner Fran (played by Maisie), a beginner with no moves at all.

The unlikely pair gather the courage to defy both convention and discover that, to be winners, the steps don’t need to be strictly ballroom.

As a 14-year-old, the ex-Eastenders star played the title role in Annie at school in her home town of Leigh, but this is her first professional stage outing.