A FORMER Colchester schoolgirl’s performance in a Broadway show has won her a nomination for a prestigious Tony award.

Amanda Root’s star turn in the Norman Conquests has been picked as a contender in the category of best performance by a featured actress in a play.

She appears as Sarah, the role originally filled by Penelope Keith in the acclaimed Alan Ayckbourn comedy, which takes the form of three interlocking full-length plays about weekends at a country house.

The ex-Philip Morant School pupil will be up against showbiz legend Angela Lansbury at the ceremony on June 7.

Dad, Ken, who still lives in Colchester with Amanda’s mum, Maureen, said his wife hoped to be in New York with his daughter’s husband, Nawtej Dosangh, on the night.

“They will be able to fly out there but we don’t know if they’ll be able to get tickets as there is so much demand,” he said.

For Ms Root, 47, who has two step-children, the Tony accolade is just the latest highlight in a glittering career.

After acting in school plays at Philip Morant, she went on to star opposite leading men including Ralph Fiennes and Daniel Day-Lewis, and in 1988 became the Royal Shakespeare Company’s youngest Lady Macbeth.

Her film credits include the 1996 version of the Charlotte Bronte novel Jane Eyre and she has appeared in TV programmes including The Buddha of Suburbia, Little Britain and the Forsyte Saga.

The name Tony is a tribute to Antoinette Perry, the wartime leader of the American Theatre Wing, which organises the awards.