FILM actress Margaret James appeared behind the counter of the station buffet in the mid 1940s classic Brief Encounter.

Mrs James - nee Barton - played the role of Beryl in the classic tale of forbidden love when she was just a teenager.

And on Tuesday the 89-year-old reprised her most famous role as a tea girl when she reopened the Wimborne Model Town tea room following a major refurbishment.

The tea room has received an upgrade thanks to grants totalling £15,000 from the Big Lottery, East Dorset District Council and Wimborne Town Council.

Model town general manager Greg Hoar (inset) said: “We were delighted to welcome Margaret James to join us in celebrating the results of all our hard work.

“She’s a great sport and was more than happy to serve customers tea behind the counter.

“It was a really lovely afternoon and despite the awful weather we had a great crowd show up for the opening.”

According to Mr Hoar the tea room hadn’t been refurbished for more than 15 years and was in desperate need of an upgrade.

“As a charity we rely on the generosity of members of the public and thanks to their support and the grant money we have received we now have a brand new tea room,” he added.

“It’s been a major project because we have had to basically rebuild it from scratch.

“We started in January and wanted to make sure we had it ready for when we opened for the spring season.

“Thanks to a wonderful group of volunteers we are now up and running and even have a brand new dishwasher.”

The new tea room has a retro vintage style and offers tea and cakes not just for visitors to the Model Town but also local residents.

There is enough seating for 54 customers.

As well as serving tea and coffee Mrs James also presented Wimborne Model Town with a very special gift - a Brief Encounter tea towel she had autographed.

“It was such a lovely touch to the day and we really weren’t expecting it,” added Mr Hoar.

“We will not be using it to do the dishes but will be finding a special place to frame it on the wall.”

The Model Town is open every day between 10 and 5pm until October 30.

This year marks the 25th anniversary since the attraction moved to its current site in King Street.

The town was originally built between 1951 and 1954 but had to move in the eighties when the original site was sold to a property developer.

The team who run the attraction are in the process of planning a special celebration. For more details go to http://www.wimborne-modeltown.com.