Young dancer Eleanor Fox is dancing for joy after securing a part in the West End hit show Billy Elliott.

Eleanor, 10, of Rochester Road, Aylesford, heard she had the part at Christmas and appeared in her first show on Wednesday last week.

She takes the role of Keeley Gibson and has to do ballet and tap numbers on stage.

Her mum Sam Fox said: “She went to an open audition back in December and then had three or four call-backs before being told she had the part. It was just such a fantastic Christmas present for her.”

Eleanor has been dancing since the age of five, and does acro, street and jazz dance-styles as well.

She is a pupil at the Mandy Ellen dance school in Earl Street.

Mrs Fox was in the audience at the Victoria Palace Theatre to watch Eleanor’s first show. She said: “She wasn’t nervous at all and when she came off stage, she was just beaming! She loved it.”

Mrs Fox said: “Eleanor’s worked very hard for this. She deserves it.”

Eleanor will be on stage three times a week on a rota system with the other young performers, until September.