Darling glugs of May

The new Mariette enjoys a tipple (or two!) on a perfick night out with Mum

WHEN you’ve landed a starring role in a hit TV series, raising a few glasses on a night out with mum seems the ‘perfik’ way for an actress to celebrate. Joelle Rae chose a summery cream floral minidress and sandals for an alfresco dinner last week to toast her success in being cast as the new Mariette in the second series of ITV’s The Larkins.

The 21-year-old certainly looked excited by the prospect of taking the role that shot Catherine Zeta-Jones to international stardom in the original Darling Buds Of May series. Joelle was enjoying drinks and dinner at Mucci’s on the trendy King’s Road in Chelsea, West London. Fittingly, diners enter the Italian restaurant via a red carpet.

The Lincolnshire-born actress chatted animatedly over a glass of red wine before eagerly tucking into pizza. She brought the relaxing meal to an end by downing a limoncello ‘digestif’ liqueur, later telling her 30,000 Instagram followers: ‘A week of joy, and carbs, a LOT of carbs, carbs so good they make you cross eyed.’

The actress also showed off a large tattoo of a bird inked on her right arm which make-up staff on The Larkins will likely have to cover for the TV drama. When it was announced she would be taking over the role of the Larkins’ eldest child from 30-year-old Sabrina Bartlett, she wrote: ‘So unbelievably excited to announce that I’m taking on the notorious role of Mariette, following in the footsteps of such wonderfully talented women. I’ve already been made to feel like part of the family by an incredible team of people and so looking forward to getting on set, dreams coming true.’

It may be Joelle’s last evening out for a while as she begins filming this week, alongside Bradley Walsh and Joanna Scanlan, who will play her parents Pop and Ma Larkin. However, Walsh has played down the use of ‘perfick’, which became a catchphrase when David Jason took the role in the 1990s.

The Mail on Sunday revealed this month how Miss Bartlett quit the show after complaining about the behaviour of co-star Tok Stephen, who plays Cedric ‘Charley’ Charlton. An investigation was launched into his conduct, but he will be returning for series two.