A young girl from Newton Leys has become a star on social media after a magical meeting with Wicked star Cynthia Erivo.
Eleven-year-old Bella-Rose met her idol at Cynthia's Simply More book launch in London last month.
Sadly, Bella-Rose had been subjected to bullying at school and as a result she developed anxiety and panic attacks. She is now home schooled.
Discovering the stage show Wicked became her escape from the horrible times: “It was a world she could retreat into when everything felt overwhelming,” her mum Lucy told MKFM.
At the book talk, Bella-Rose spoke with Cynthia, gifting her a doll and a bracelet she had made for the actress.
“Her emotional reaction really resonated with people,” her mum said, but Bella found the occasion overwhelming and when she struggled with a panic attack, Cynthia helped to calm her down.
“Within hours of me uploading the video onto TikTok and Instagram it had thousands of views and comments,” Lucy said.
Three weeks on, and it has been viewed an incredible13 million times!
Bella-Rose and her mum then travelled to London for the film premiere of Wicked: For Good in Leicester Square to watch the movie on the big screen and soak up the excitement, but Cynthia send a message to Lucy inviting them to attend the premiere – and she asked to meet Bella-Rose again.
"She was absolutely ecstatic. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her smile so much. She kept asking, ‘Mum, is this really real?’
“Watching her walk in and see Cynthia again is a memory I’ll treasure forever. Seeing her so happy, so confident, and feeling so seen was emotional for me too.
“It’s something I never imagined would happen! I also felt so under dressed and expressed this to Cynthia and her response was super sweet.
“Bella-Rose looked amazing in her Elphaba costume and that’s all that mattered."
She also got to meet other cast members including Jeff GoldBlum, Ariana Grande, Marissa Bode, director Jon M Chi, and Bronwyn James at the star-studded event.
And how does Bella-Rose look back on the day?
“Meeting Cynthia and going to the premiere was the best day of my whole life,” she said.
