Budding actress Jennie Evans-Snell has shed a third of her weight

by Jamie Bullen

A teenager who ballooned to 18st is now one step closer to her West End dream after shedding a third of her weight.

Jennie Evans-Snell, 19, of Hudson Close, Sturry, has overcome weight issues and depression to win a place at the London School of Musical Theatre.

She is now busy rehearsing for the lead role Kim in Miss Saigon at the Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury, but remembers only too well how unhappy she once was.

She said: "I was clinically depressed and suffering from extreme anxiety.

"I was 18st and I couldn't talk or interact with people and I found it really hard to socialise. I pretty much had given up."

Bullied by classmates, Jennie often stayed off school but would make an effort to go to rehearsals - saying a performance in a school production of Les Miserables in March 2010 sparked a turning point in her life.

She said: "I played Eponine at the Gulbenkian Theatre and that was when I knew what I wanted to do. It completely changed my viewpoint.

"Now I've lost six stone and I'm determined to lose more before the performance.

"I used to go to school just for the rehearsals and even now I get dizzy when I go to the school gates."

Another milestone in Jennie's journey was moving into foster care, which she says has helped repair a once-strained relationship with her mum.

She said: "The family I was with were supportive and I knew I could talk to them about anything.

"My relationship with my mum is now a lot better. We spent Christmas together, which was fantastic and everything is so much healthier than it was before.

"There is still a long way to go but now the bad days are not anywhere as bad as they once were.

"Having been in foster care I've seen a lot of things and it has made me appreciate life so much more."

Jennie will begin a one-year training course at the London School of Musical Theatre in September.

Jenni Evans-Snell who is playing the leading lady in Miss Siagon

Just one in 10 applicants from across Europe wins a place at the school, which has produced many students who have gone on to launch careers in the West End.

She said: "I've been up to London and met some of the people at the school.

"It's still big for me going there because at one point I couldn't get on a bus by myself.

"To be part of an ensemble cast at the West End would just be a dream come true."

To watch Jennie in Sandwich Technology College's production of Miss Saigon, visit www.kent.ac.uk/gulbenkian or call 01227 769075.