I was scouted in bookshop for leading role in TV ad

A woman says it is "surreal" to see herself in a new advert after she was scouted in a bookshop where she works.

A film crew spotted Sophie Smith, 25, while she was working at Sherlock and Pages in Frome, Somerset. A few months later, she is now starring in a series of new Post Office adverts released this week.

Smith said: "It is really quite surreal. Family and friends have been texting my mum to say they've seen me in a TV advert."

Somerset Council chiefs said filming in the area was also good for the economy, with film and TV productions bringing about £6.6m to the county last year.

Councillor Mike Rigby, the council's lead member for economic development planning and assets, said: "It [filming] generates income for business while crews are here and then showcases our wonderful county when the finished product reaches the screen."

Smith said a 12-hour test shoot was the "scariest part" of the whole experience.

"I was a big performer in school and did some improvisation at uni, but only ever on stage.

"I had never done anything on camera. I was nervous, but thought, 'I'm not going to let my nerves get in the way'," she added.

Three weeks after the test shoot, about 50 cast and crew members were on set in Frome's historic town centre to film the advert, which shows Smith walking down the cobbled street to pay in her shop's takings.

"By the time the filming date came around, I felt so at ease. I was familiar with the plot, and everyone was so lovely," Smith said.

Smith said although there was minimal acting involved, featuring in the advert had "reignited a spark" and she would love to do more acting.

Several businesses on Catherine Hill, which had a fictional Post Office created for the purpose of the advert, also featured in the filming.

Frome is one of a number of areas in the county being promoted as a filming location by Screen Somerset, which is run by Somerset Council.