Actress Amanda Redman, star of TV's Hope and Glory, captivated another audience as she launched the Ealing Gazette's £25,000 appeal for a playground at Ealing Hospital.
She raised plenty of smiles among the sick children - many of whom recognised her, even if they weren't sure where from!
The local celeb had visited the hospital for treatment to her own children in the past, and told the Gazette: "I could really have done with a playground here then.
"I am sure it will help with the frustration a child feels. It is hard for parents to cope with that when they are worried."
Hospital chief executive Lorraine Clifton said: "This is a project we have wanted to undertake for a long time, but improvements in frontline clinical services must always take precedence within our tight budgets.
"We are very grateful to the Gazette and its readers for their support."
The project will mean covering a designated area with safety flooring, replacing doors and repainting. It is also hoped artists and schools will join forces to paint murals on the walls.
The plans include imaginative and durable outdoor equipment.
Businesses, schools and politicians have thrown their weight behind the campaign, offering personal help and donations or to organise or join fund-raising events.
Amanda Redman to star in new crime drama
Amanda Redman, James Bolam and Dennis Waterman are to star in a new crime drama for BBC1.
New Tricks features Redman as a police superintendent who is sidelined after a hostage rescue goes disastrously wrong.
Put in charge of a new department, she's dismayed to find it's manned by former detectives who have long since handed over their badges.
The 90-minute drama is currently being filmed in London and will be shown on BBC1 next year.
A BBC spokesman said: "There is something intrinsically funny about three retired, larger-than-life detectives, their health not quite what it was, working alongside modern day cops.
"But New Tricks looks not only at the often amusing role that the middle-aged have in our working culture, but also at law enforcement and the changes that have taken place over the last 30 years - have they necessarily made Britain a safer place?"
At Home star smoked off-set while 'pregnant'
Amanda Redman shocked passers-by when she lit up a cigarette while "pregnant."
The actress was filming scenes for the final series of At Home With The Braithwaites at the time.
Her character was pregnant, and she was still wearing her false "bump" off-set.
Amanda said: "I had this brilliant prosthetic bump which even had a belly button.
"The really weird thing is, when I put it on, I would be holding and protecting it.
"We were doing some exterior shots one day, and there I was, fag in one hand, stroking my bump with the other."
She told Zap magazine: "What the public thought when they caught sight of me is anyone's guess."
Hope and Glory star quashes rumours of split
Amanda Redman insists she is not about to split up with her boyfriend Damian Schnabel.
She has been dating the marketing designer for two years and admits people are always expecting them to break up.
But the Hope And Glory star says they are very happy.
"There are always the sceptics who are happpier when you are miserable. I am very happy with Damian and intend remaining that way," said Amanda.
"Can all the damp squibs now please clear off?"
They became friends after both had suffered major blows in their private lives.
"I think it's safe to say we cried on each other's shoulders and then realised there was a chemistry we hadn't seen before," she said.
Damian is firm friends with her 13-year-old daughter Emily from her marriage to actor Robert Glenister .
She said: "They bonded in a very softly softly way without anyone forcing them to get together. That was especially wonderful to watch. They are very close."
Amanda is back on TV on Thursday in a new series of At Home With The Braithwaites.
She plays a suburban mother of three who wins £38 million in a European lottery.
"I think if I won that much I might just consider giving up the business - for about five minutes," she said.
"I'm afraid acting is in my blood. I don't know what I would do without it."
