BRADFORD'S former Emmerdale actress Natalie Anderson has spoken of her joy at securing a film role alongside international stars Liam Neeson and Monica Bellucci.

Anderson, who played Alicia Metcalfe in the ITV soap between 2010 and 2015, appears in the thriller Memory, directed by Casino Royale’s Martin Campbell and adapted from the novel De Zaak Alzheimer by Belgian writer Jef Geeraerts.

She said: “In my early 20s, the big screen was my goal.

“I hadn’t put it to bed completely, although I never really thought film would be the next step for me at this stage in my life.

“When I saw who was involved, I thought: ‘Crikey, this is a big film,’ so of course I said yes.

“I felt so lucky to be working in what has been such a tough time and to be with that calibre of people was just amazing – 2021 is turning out so much better than I could ever have imagined.”

In the film, Liam Neeson will play an expert assassin with a reputation for discreet precision in Memory; the character has recently developed Alzheimer's disease in the gritty story.

Also starring in the film are Guy Pearce, Harold Torres, Taj Atwal and Ray Fearon.