THE glitz and glamour surrounding America's prestigious Emmy awards is beckoning for one young North-East woman.

But Ruth Atkinson will not be phased by the number of Hollywood stars she rubs shoulders with in Los Angeles tomorrow - at only 21, she is already used to meeting them.

Ruth is one of the country's youngest script supervisors and has worked on a string of films and television projects already, including the latest James Bond movie.

She will be attending the Emmys to support boyfriend Pedro Sabrosa, a visual effects artist, who has been nominated in the effects category for the mini-series Dinotopia, which has yet to be seen in Britain.

Said the down-to-earth youngster: "I'm really excited about it, especially as I have never been to America be-fore.

"There are going to be quite a lot of big names there and it will be a bit strange seeing people like Tom Hanks close up. But you do get used to it."

Ruth is a former pupil of Wolsingham School and Community College and came home to parents Anita and John in Fir Tree, near Bishop Auckland, specially for last weekend's Wolsingham Show.

"I love coming home and catching up with everyone and I wish I could stay longer sometimes," she said.

Ruth studied A-levels in theatre studies, English, French and general studies at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, in Darlington.

Amazingly she was turned down by six universities to study broadcasting and originally intended to take a year out, leaving for London at the age of 17.

Then she secured her first job - as a runner on the drama series Fish, starring Paul McGann - and went on to do film and television foundation training in a scheme sponsored by the television industry, including the BBC and Channel 4.

But while many of her peers are fresh out of university and getting their first jobs as runners, Ruth is now a script supervisor.

It is her role to ensure the continuity is maintained during filming and she heads the continuity department while on various sets.

Her first job after being qualified was the eagerly anticipated James Bond film Die Another Day, starring Pierce Brosnan.

Ruth has also worked on the North-East series Auf Wiedersehen Pet, another film Rehab - directed by Antonia Bird, who made Priest with Robert Carlyle - and The Martins, starring Lee Evans and Kathy Burke.

After catching up with friends and family at Wolsingham Show, her next job is for eight weeks on the Isle of Man filming a new police drama series with pop star turned actor Martin Kemp.