A CROWD funding appeal has raised nearly £3,000 to pay for a short film starring Frampton Mansell-based actress Daphne Neville.

Daphne is starring in Cold Caller, which is being made by two filmmakers from Cirencester.

Director Phil Cook, 49, and producer George Collings, 19, received £2,700 in just 30 days via the Kickstarter fundraising website after they appealed for donations.

Having previously made short promotional films for businesses in the Cotswolds, the pair decided to try their hand on a drama, and persuaded actress and otter campaigner Daphne to appear in the 12-minute film, which they plan to enter in competitions.

“Filming is going swimmingly,” said Phil, who recently appeared in the TV adaption of JK Rowling’s novel The Casual Vacancy.

“We also have actor Peter Stenson starring in it. He worked with William Hartnell in the very first episodes of Doctor Who in 1963. His signatures are selling on eBay.

“It’s lovely that the whole team have the same goals in mind. We need to get a composer and edit it but it should be ready in May.”

The duo will be entering their picture into film festivals across the UK and are also planning to hold a screening at the Corinium Museum in Cirencester.

In the film, Daphne plays an elderly woman who encounters a visitor who is not all he seems.

It is being shot on location near Stroud.

RADA trained Daphne has appeared in dozens of films, TV productions and plays.

In 2013 she appeared in The Invisible Woman directed by Ralph Fiennes.