THE cast of a play being staged at Carnforth Station had a brief encounter with Coronation Street's Kate Ford when she popped in during rehearsals.

The play about a young apprentice, who loses her job in a cotton mill and starts a new life in the USA, is being staged on platform one by Lunchbox Theatre Company, which is run by drama coach Christine Burn, the mother of Kate's long-time friend Anya.

The Runaway Apprentice is staged on Saturday, March 24, at 1pm and Bank Holiday Monday May 7, with Christine in the driving seat.

Christine's daughter, Anya, was Kate's best mate when they were growing up and both went to Kirkby Lonsdale's Queen Elizabeth School.

They kept in touch and Kate is godmother to Anya's daughter Zara Joy.

Christine, a former BBC Northwest television presenter, tells me that when the Coronation Street storyline came up, where Ken and Deidre Barlow had baby Tracy, it was suggested that Anya should be the baby.

Christine and her husband - who worked for Granada - declined: "We could have become quite rich but we felt that it was not fair on such a small baby.

"The strange thing is, that years later, Kate and Anya became best friends and eventually, out of the blue, Kate got the part of Tracy Barlow.

"Kate has done really well and I am very proud of her," adds Christine.

"I remember when she was doing her auditions for Webber Douglas, a top London drama school - she rang me and said I've got through to the second round - what shall I do?' "Do your best and just concentrate Kate - you can do it!

"And she did. Sometimes she would come back to practise pieces of drama or we'd recite bits of Dylan Thomas down the telephone.

"She's got a brilliant singing voice I'd like to see her in a musical. She is not a bit like Tracy in real life - she's a darling godmother to Zara Joy and turns up with really cute Christmas presents for her - like a musical jewel box with a fairy dancing on the lid.

As reported in The Westmorland Gazette on Friday, March 16, Kate took time out from her last day of filming on the Corrie set, to shed light - among other things - on how Christine influenced her career.

"I already knew what I wanted to do, but Christine certainly helped," explained Tracy.

"She inspired me."

The Runaway Apprentice has proved a popular part of the National Curriculum and Christine says it includes plenty of audience participation.

She's also keen for people to turn up to watch in Victorian costume to add to the atmosphere of the period piece. "Thousands of people, of all ages, throughout the UK, have seen it, but this is the first time we've performed on a railway platform," concludes Christine, well on track to steer a successful show.

Full steam ahead then.

Tickets for The Runaway Apprentice are £5 and available from the gift shop on platform one or by telephone from the box office on 07000-80-22-80.

For more arts stories see The Westmorland Gazette's Leisure section.