An aspiring actress had said her dreams have come true after landing a place at an exclusive drama school which has produced some of the country's finest actors.

Sadie Pepperell, 19, of Mitcham, will be following in the footsteps of Judi Dench, Lawrence Olivier and Vanessa Redgrave when she takes up a coveted spot at the Royal Central School for Speech and Drama in October.

The school received 4,500 applications in total and had just 20 places available and just ten for girls.

She said: "I just can't believe it.

"Things like this don’t happen to normal people from a small family in Mitcham."

The hard working student will be juggling three jobs as a payroll clerk at Sainsbury’s, an usher at Wimbledon theatre, and as a team leader at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, to fund the £27,000 three year acting course, while staying at home to help look after her disabled mum.

She said: "It’s very hard to have a social life but this is what I want to do.

"It’s so tough to get into that scene but if you graft and put your mind to it you can do it."

The unconditional offer came through on Wednesday (May 1) to the delight of Miss Pepperell and her family. She said: "When I found out we all just started crying.

"My family have been so supportive and they’ve believed in me even when I didn’t.

"In a small town like Mitcham, It’s not every day that someone achieves their dream."