Girls line up for Potter stardom

Those at the end of the queue had a long wait in the cold

About 2,000 Asian teenagers have queued around London's West End for a chance to star in the next Harry Potter film.

Girls braved the cold on Sunday to take part in an open audition for the parts of twins Parvati and Padma in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

They came from as far as Liverpool and Cardiff to the Pineapple Studios in Langley Street, near Covent Garden.

But they did not get a chance to show off their acting talents, as producers just wanted to photograph each girl.

They said acting experience was not important as getting the right look for the twins, who accompany Harry and Ron to the school ball in the book.

Could these hopefuls from Liverpool play Parvati and Padma?

Rupert Grint, who plays Ron, and Emma Watson, who plays Hermione, were both picked for their roles at open auditions, having only previously acted in school plays.

The doors opened at 1000 GMT, but some girls arrived as early as 0800 GMT to get to the front of the queue.

Previous auditions for the twins had been held in Birmingham and Bradford.

But casting director Shaheen Baig told the Bradford Telegraph and Argus it was proving difficult to find Asian twin girls for the parts, so they had decided to open up auditions.

She said: "We're looking for two girls - if they happen to be sisters that would be amazing, but it doesn't really matter.

"We just want two good girls who have fantastic chemistry."