A NORTH-EAST graduate has been rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars after joining the crew of a new British comedy film.

Helen Whiles, of Normanby, Middlesbrough, will be helping to dress Burt Reynolds, Coyote Ugly star Adam Garcia and Baywatch's Carmen Electra after landing a job as a costume trainee on the set of independent comedy Party Pieces.

Miss Whiles, who graduated from Cleveland College of Art & Design after studying a three-year BA Hons Entertainment Design degree, is responsible for dressing the actors on set and ensuring the continuity of costumes before filming.

The 21-year-old said: "It was quite daunting at first, but I still don’t see this as a job – it’s just one big experience.

“When I first started I thought I would feel nervous and uncomfortable around such famous actors but you get to know them on the first day and you just get used to it straight away. They’re just normal people going to work like you and I and they are also a good laugh which makes it a very comfortable environment to work in.”

Party Pieces, which is set in a large country house and being filmed in Surrey, tells the story of a group of seven old university friends who come together for an extraordinary weekend.

“Before filming began I spent a lot of time running frantically around London with a list of clothes, accessories, fabrics and shoes that I needed to get for the shoot,” said Helen.

Helen’s own designs were recently on display at this year’s CCAD Hartlepool campus degree show.