Soap star Rebecca Sarker swapped Coronation Street for memory lane to drop in at her old Bradford school.

Rebecca, known to millions as shop assistant Nita Desai, returned to Bradford Girls' Grammar where she first trod the boards during class productions.

"It has been very strange to come back but very nice," said Rebecca, who was invited to bury the pupils' Millennium time capsule and cut the ribbon on their new £750,000 refectory.

After joining Upper 4 for a morning French lesson, Rebecca toured the old corridors and signed autographs for young fans.

"I really had a brilliant time when I was a pupil here. It is hard to see how they could have made it any better, but they have," she said.

Rebecca, of Halifax, was described by her old head teacher Lynda Warrington as a "lively, happy character," remembered particularly for her dancing.

The star said: "I always loved acting and dancing in school and other productions but I didn't really have any ambitions to become and actress. I just took one day at a time, which is really how I do things now.

"The atmosphere at school was brilliant and I had loads of friends. I still keep in touch with some."

After leaving the sixth-form, Rebecca went on to study languages at Leeds University before moving to London to enrol at theatre school.

She was then involved in various "bits and pieces", performing in a number of theatre shows and also going on tour. "This was all very hard work but great fun," she recalled.

A little over a year ago, Rebecca auditioned for Coronation Street in London against hopefuls from across the country. She said: "Acting on Coronation Street wasn't something I'd always dreamed about."

After a second audition in Manchester, Rebecca was told she had got the job. "Starting a new job is unsettling at the best of times but beginning work at Coronation Street had a bit of an edge.

"If you mess up at an office there are only a few people to witness it. Mess up here and there are millions to see it. I really enjoy what I am doing and have had a gentle welcome into the job. Everyone has made me feel at home."

Mrs Warrington, still head at the school, said: "I remember her as a lively happy character. She had always shown an interest in drama."

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