by Hayley Robinson

Actress Hayley McGinty looks set for stardom.

Her first professional acting role saw her appear in the opening episode of the BBC1 series Call the Midwife in January.

Those who watched it will have seen her character Maureen Warren translating for her Spanish-speaking mother Conchita while midwife Jenny looks after her during her 25th pregnancy.

Now the 24-year-old, who lives in Iwade with her mum Teresa, has just found out she has a part in a new Channel 4 drama - "but that's as much as I can say at the moment," she said.

The former Sittingbourne Community College (SCC) student, who uses the stage name Hayley Squires, graduated from the Rose Bruford Drama School, Sidcup, in July 2010.

She said: "I learnt a great deal from Call the Midwife. It was a great thing to have been part of.

"I did watch it with my mum and my brother. I was critical because my training is theatre so it was a good learning curve."

But her claim to fame doesn't stop there.

Her play Vera Vera Vera, which she wrote in 2010 and was entered into this year's Young Writers Festival, has just finished showing at the Royal Court Theatre, London. It is now going on to the Theatre Local, in Peckham, where it will run throughout June and July.

The story is about a young soldier who is killed while on tour in Afghanistan and focuses on how the younger members of his family deal with his death.

The actress, who works full time at SCC as an assistant to the arts specialism, said: "It came from stuff I saw in the news and people I knew from school joining the Army. I couldn't understand why anyone would want to do it but at the same time I have a massive respect for those that do.

"I've now got a few meetings coming up about writing with Film4 but I can't talk about it yet."

Asked if she'd like to crack Hollywood she replied: "I'd like to one day. If I can star alongside anyone it would be Meryl Streep and Ryan Gosling - he's just beautiful."