LILY ALLEN - LILY ALLEN TO MAKE ACTING DEBUT

Lily Allen will make her feature film acting debut in a new spoof version of Pride and Prejudice.

The singer will star as Lydia Bennett in the adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel, while tabloid favourite Russell Brand will star as her lover - and arch-rival of Mr Darcy - George Wickham.

Following her father Keith and brother Alfie into the acting profession, the LDN popstrel will begin filming the £2.5 million movie this spring, according to Sprout, the production company behind the new film.

Entitled Jane Austen Handheld, the spoof will feature Stephen Fry as Lydia's father Mr Bennett, while Princess Leia herself, Carrie Fisher, will play the family matriarch.

However, the lead roles of Lizzie Bennett and Mr Darcy - famously immortalised by Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, before being reprised by Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen in the 2006 Joe Wright movie - have not yet been cast.

Robert Farrar, screenwriter of the 1998 romcom Bedrooms and Hallways, is to script the movie spoof, while Tristram Shapeero will direct.

Shapeero is a force to be reckoned with in British comedy, having directed I'm Alan Partridge, Peep Show, Green Wing, Absolute Power and the infamous 'Paedophilia' episode of Brass Eye.