SHE began treading the boards at the age of six so at 18 Rosie Day is already something of an acting veteran.

Now the Hampshire teenager is set to become a household name after landing a leading role in a new ITV drama series.

Homefront follows the lives of a group of army wives and families whose loved ones are serving on the front line in Afghanistan.

Playing a wayward teenager, who is struggling to adapt to her dad remarrying, Rosie is one of the main characters of the drama that begins tomorrow.

Starring alongside established television actors, including Claire Skinner of Outnumbered, Nicola Stephen-son and Greg Wise, who plays her on-screen dad, Rosie said she felt starstruck but enjoyed every minute of the three-month shoot.

“I always get starstruck around famous actors. I couldn’t believe I was sat next to them during the auditions, nevermind working alongside them,” she said.

Becoming accustomed to the fame and fortune of her chosen career is something Rosie, from Winchester , will have to learn fast after already making her first outing on the red carpet at the premiere of her first film.

Playing the lead role alongside Sean Pertwee, Rosie has won critical acclaim for her portrayal of an orphaned deaf and mute girl in the horror film The Seasoning House, set in a Balkan brothel.

The film, which is due to go on general release next year, has left her with lasting memories as she still has the scars from filming her own stunts, which included falling out of a window and fight scenes with “big burly men”.

Rosie said: “It was a dark film but the stunts were amazing to do. The premiere was probably one of the best days of my life, it was manic. There were photographers all calling my name, just amazing.”

Rosie got into acting by chance when her older sister Sophie was cast in a TV drama and producers needed a younger girl to play her sibling.

“It happened when I was six and it was all thanks to my sister, who was a bit of a show off and got into performing arts. Ever since then I have been hooked.”

Rosie moved to Winchester at the age of eight with her sister, now 21 and a music graduate, older brother Michael, 25, who is a teacher, and parents Julia and Richard.

The former Hampshire Collegiate pupil said it is her family who keep her grounded.

“My mum and dad are not at all from a show business background but it is something I have just always wanted to do.

“They definitely keep my feet on the ground. I came back from filing Homefront and asked my mum for a glass of water and she told me to get it myself. ‘You’re not on set now!’ she said!”