FORMER Maplins yellowcoat Nikki Kelly will be saying Hi De Hi' to film fans in Christchurch when she makes a personal appearance at a charity gala premiere at the Regent Centre next week.

The actress, best known for her role as the leggy Sylvia in the long-running holiday camp sit-com, is the star of a new sci-fi thriller, The Message, made by Highcliffe-based Wessex Associated Films.

And Nikki is swapping her yellow coat for the red carpet when she arrives in style for the film's first screening on Friday, October 5 at 7.30pm when proceeds from the evening, which begins at 7.30pm, will go to the Julia's House Dorset children's hospice near Poole.

Filmed on location in Highcliffe and surrounding areas including the New Forest and Hengistbury Head, The Message was written, directed and produced by Lynn Morrey as her first professional feature film since she founded Wessex Associated Films, having previously made numerous promotional and educational films.

As well as Nikki Kelly, The Message boasts an all-star cast including Judy Bowker, Royal Shakespearean actor Harry Meacher and former Hammer Horror star Edward Romfourt as well as local amateur and professional actors including children.

The time-travelling environmental thriller focusing on the effects of climate change today, tomorrow and 1,000 years into the future also features roles for Lynn's lurcher dog Terry and a Second World War German Kubelwagen in Afrika Korps livery, which raised eyebrows when it was seen driving through the New Forest during the making of the film.

There is a second chance to see The Message at the Regent Centre on Sunday, October 7 at 7.30pm and Lynn is hoping the film will be taken up by a distributor for general release.

Meanwhile, she is already planning sequels to The Message and her next project, a Second World War drama Like a New Dawn, is due to begin filming early next year.