AN actress from Hatfield is starring in an inspirational feature film raising awareness of homophobic bullying among young people, in a bid to combat the issue.

Davina Dewrance, of Park House Court, Hatfield, appears in a new interactive film which aims to tackle prejudicial bullying and young people's derogatory use of the word "gay".

Produced by national charity Stonewall, the film, dubbed FIT, broaches topics such as homosexuality, sexual identities and bullying by following the journeys of eight main characters.

Davina, a performing arts teacher and part-time actress, plays a homosexual teenager called Darcy who is shunned by her family after proudly admitting she is gay.

Describing her character, 27-year-old Davina, formerly of Hatfield Road, St Albans, said: "Her parents have abandoned her. She's moved in with her gran, but she's very sure of who she is and she's not afraid to stand up. She stands up at one point in front of her whole class and says: 'so what if I'm gay'. It's nice to see the journeys that the characters go on."

The film, written and directed by award-winning documentary maker Rikki Beadle-Blair, will be sent to schools across the country with the aim of stamping out homophobic bullying in education. The upbeat DVD, which has been described as a 'gritty take on the shiny E4 drama Glee', also aims to help teachers discuss issues comfortably in the classroom.

Davina, who has been acting since she was three and now teaches performance arts to 8-11 year olds at Cunningham Hill Junior School, St Albans, every saturday, said she developed an interest in anti-homophobic campaigns after speaking to young people at a gay youth day in London last summer. She said she felt touched by the stories of young people being shunned, bullied or even beaten because of their sexuality.

"Any type of bullying shouldn't happen," she said. "If the film changes one person's life then it's done its job. To get to work on something that's going to make a difference and make history is the best job in the world."

The entire cast and crew attended a film screening in Leicester Square last week, with further festivals scheduled in other major UK cities over the next six months.