Munich Show is no Disaster for Hayley

AN up-and-coming Normanton actress is set to make her TV debut this Tuesday in a BBC account of the Munich air disaster.

Hayley Mason, 26, plays Carol Phillipson, the fianc? of ill-fated Manchester United footballer and 'Busby Babe? Tommy Taylor in Surviving Disaster: Munich Air Crash? ? a dramatic reconstruction of the tragic event that took place on February 6 1958.

"This programme is the first screen drama to show what happened and I?m thrilled to be a part of it," said Hayley, who studied Drama and English Literature at Edge Hill College of Higher Education in Lancashire between 1997 and 2000. "The programme?s aim is to depict the human element of the disaster which, as a grieving partner, is where I come in."

Hayley was not originally in the running for the role however after some persistent phone calls she secured an audition and ultimately the part was hers.

"I heard of the part through a friend who also auditioned and I just decided to go for it. Little is known about Carol so the only remit was that I had to be Northern and thankfully I fitted the bill."

After leaving Edge Hill Hayley went on to study at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London, before embarking on tours with a number of theatre companies and doing corporate media work.

"It?s really exciting to make my debut in such a high-profile production, hopefully this will lead to a few more TV appearances."

The programme is screened at 9pm on Tuesday January 10th and also stars Maurice Roeves as Sir Matt Busby and former Brookside star John McArdle as sportswriter Frank Taylor, the only journalist to survive.