KELLIE Royle lived the dream when she moved to Los Angeles and contributed to Buffy the Vampire storylines.

Last week the 33-year-old urged Warrington's young people to also reach for the stars when she spoke at the town's film festival at Pyramid.

Kellie, from Salford, was part way through her degree course when a chance letter she sent in 2000, resulted in an invitation to LA to work collaboratively with a Buffy script writer.

She said: "Moving out there was one of the most fantastic and scariest experiences of my life. I worked with Tracey Forbes, who was one of the writers for three Buffy episodes - it was the chance of a lifetime.

"Working with someone else helps your ideas to come thick and fast, although of course you don't always agree with each other."

Her tips for up and coming script writers in Warrington is to believe in your writing, be determined and bounce back after rejection. Networking also helps, she admitted.

She said: "You need talent, but sadly it is not always what you know as much as who you know. You need to get your name in the right person's in-tray."

She was full of praise for the town's first film festival, saying it will open windows into opportunities that are sometimes difficult to imagine when at school.

She said: "You have to make young people aware of the chances that are out there, even if they are not easy to achieve. The festival also introduced young people to an art form that's considered cool. They can be enthusiastic about it without being persecuted by their peers."