Former Emmerdale actress Verity Rushworth is to star alongside Jason Donovan in The Sound of Music.

Verity, who is from Rawdon and went to St Mary’s School in Menston, will play Maria opposite the former Neighbours star as Captain Von Trapp in a national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lavish production.

The musical opened in the West End in 2006 following the televised search for a star, BBC1’s How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria.

With choreography by Arlene Phillips, the smash hit show follows the story of the Von Trapp family’s escape from Nazi-occupied Austria.

Its world famous score includes My Favourite Things, Do-Re-Mi and Climb Ev’ry Mountain. The show comes to Leeds Grand Theatre from June 7 to 25.

Verity, 25, is best known as Donna Windsor in Emmerdale, a role she played for 11 years before leaving the Yorkshire soap in 2008.

She went on to play Penny Pingleton in the West End production of Sixties musical Hairspray.

Verity made her stage debut at the Alhambra, as a pantomime Sunbeam, and her grandmother was a jazz singer who performed in Bradford clubs.

“I was quite a hyperactive child and my mum sent me to Scala theatre school in Horsforth,” said Verity.

“I joined in the class straight away, I loved it.”

Verity, who joined Emmerdale aged 11, has enjoyed making the transition from child actress to established musical theatre star.

“I was lucky in Emmerdale,” she said. “Most children of a young age get re-cast at 16 and they bring in someone else, but I really did work hard and carried on with my drama lessons.

“I loved St Mary’s, they were so good about me filming. I used to get homework and had to put in extra time and they were so good about it.”