JILL SCOTT - SCOTT STUNNED TO FIND WRITER MCCALL SMITH IS WHITE

Soul star-turned-actress JILL SCOTT was left speechless after her first meeting with author of THE NO.1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY series ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH - because she didn't expect the writer to be white. Scott landed the role of heroine Precious Ramotswe in the Anthony Minghella-directed TV film last year (07), a movie which follows the fortunes of the only female-owned detective agency in the African nation of Botswana. And the 35-year-old star admits she was stunned when she realised the author of the books the movie is based on wasn't a black African. She says, "I really couldn't believe it when I met him, I was so shocked. "I thanked him for being such a great writer, for being able to capture the soul of a place so completely." MCCall Smith was born and bred in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and spent years working as a teacher in Botswana, but has since relocated to Edinburgh, Scotland to teach law. The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency is now set to be made into a 13-show series this summer (08) after the success of the TV movie.