AMY Nuttall did more than turn a flowergirl into a duchess at Wednesday night's opening of My Fair Lady in Manchester - she went from soap star to musical diva.

The 23-year-old Bolton songstress shone in this fabulous Cameron Mackintosh and National Theatre production of the ever-popular stage show, proving once and for all that she has the presence, voice and charisma to carry a show.

True, she had wonderful support in a clutch of established names, but all eyes were on her Eliza Doolittle throughout this wonderful evening.

The Palace is the opening venue for a national tour that is set to be a triumph. The production brought a new warmth, crispness and sheer pizzazz to George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion put to the music of Lerner and Loew.

Christopher Cazenove shrugged on Professor Higgins' misogynistic mantle with great verve as Rex Harrison with a singing voice. Veteran actress Honor Blackman brought class and her own ethereal beauty to his mother, Mrs Higgins, and Stephen Moore as Colonel Hugh Pickering quietly stole most of the laughs.

And when Russ Abbot - as Eliza's likeable n'er-do-well dad, Alfred P Doolittle - was on stage, there was a crackling energy about, complemented by some of the finest dancing you are likely to see this year.

His "With A Little Bit of Luck" and "I'm Getting Married In The Morning" were the musical hits of the night.

Casting throughout was a delight. Stephen Carlile, as silly ass romeo Freddie Eynsford-Hill with his terrific voice, and Octagon favourite Romy Baskerville, as starch-with-a-heart housekeeper Mrs Pearce, were typical of the attention to detail.

Stunning costumes - especially during the Ascot scenes - and crisp arrangements under the baton of musical director James McKeon provided a feast for the eyes and the ears.The fascinating staging seemed to glide seamlessly from one scene to the next, and Trevor Nunn's deft direction was never far away.

But, even more than this remarkable panoply of talent and influence, there was Amy, transformed in every way.

She sang sweetly, danced and acted well, and - more than this - she won over an audience looking for something fresh in this rags to riches story. They found it here.

Amy's Emmerdale pals were in the audience - the Kings mixing freely with the Dingles - to see their former siren Chloe Atkinson undergo this extreme makeover to a star. They cheered her as loudly as the rest of us.

The local girl looks sure to hit the big time - not just in her home county, but as far afield as 'ertford, 'ereford and 'ampshire.