A TALENTED Burnley schoolgirl is set to take to the stage tonight as she follows in her brother's footsteps treading the boards.

Budding actress Jessica Parkinson, nine, will appear as one of the sewer children in the production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Manchester's Palace Theatre.

She has been signed on a three month contract to star in the show, her first major role in the theatre.

Jessica, a pupil at St Mary Magdalene's RC Primary School, has already been in productions of The King and I' and Les Miserables' put on by the Burnley Basics theatre group. And she isn't the first member of the Parkinson family to take to the stage. Her brother Christopher, 13, has already starred in several roles. Last year he appeared alongside renowned movie actress Helena Bonham Carter in major TV drama Magnificent 7 and he has worked with Sir Elton John and acclaimed director Stephen Daldry.

Christopher, a pupil at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London, has also featured in TV comedy Mike Bassett: Football Manager, with Ricky Tomlinson and Amanda Redman, and film Irish Jam, with Anna Friel.

Proud mum Joyce Booth, of Pendle Way, said: "I'm really proud of both of them as they have done really well. Jessica has been a member of Basics for a while now but this is her first role in a major production.

"I'm sure that she has been inspired by Chris into taking up acting and it is nice to see them doing what they have dreamed of."