SHOWBIZ star Anita Harris has been meeting fans up close in her beloved home town of Bournemouth.

The singer, actress and dancer took a short break from touring with her one-woman show to attend three film screenings at Westbourne’s tiny Colosseum cinema.

She met friends and fans at the 19-seater venue for screenings of her two Carry On films from 1967 – Carry on Doctor and Carry On Follow That Camel.

“Just looking at the film Carry On Doctor again, it brings back such beautiful memories of working with a team of people that I treasure,” she said.

“Thank goodness dear Barbara [Windsor] is such a lovely friend – so many are in heaven now that I’m sure there’s a company of players up there doing it all again.”

She recalled how she landed her first Carry On role when she was working with comedian Frankie Howerd at London’s Prince of Wales Theatre.

“The producer, Peter Rogers, and director, Gerald Thomas, came in to talk to Frankie about doing his next Carry On – and by the end of that evening, they had asked me to do Carry On Follow That Camel. Joyous times and treasured memories,” she said.

Her first Carry On saw her cast alongside American comedy legend Phil Silvers, who she remembers as “delightful” and “very softly spoken off-screen”. Her second role was in Carry On Doctor.

“Two weeks ago, I did a guest appearance in Casualty for the BBC and when I went in they all teased me, ‘Here comes Nurse Clark’. But in fact it’s a more grown-up role,” said Anita.

“Each generation seems to be enjoying the Carry Ons on their own particular terms. It’s a bit of Britain, isn’t it? A bit of Blackpool and Bournemouth Pier. Naughty but nice.”

The 71-year-old, who has fond memories of her Bournemouth childhood and the Westover Ice Rink, recalled how her “darling parents” had enjoyed visiting the resort when they lived in bomb-damaged Bristol.

She said: “To come to Bournemouth was very special. Daddy always said ‘I’m going to bring my family here’. So when I was seven and my brothers were a little bit older, we all came here.

“Thank you for bringing back the memories.

“It’s been lovely, dear old Daily Echo.”