If you want to get ahead get a hat : my Midsomer Murders starring role

A RED hat was my secret weapon in my bid for TV fame.

And if you watch the latest episode of Midsomer Murders very closely, you'll be able to spot it.

For all of five seconds.

My "starring" moment in the hit ITV1 drama comes on Sunday, when I play a guest at the wedding of DCI Tom Barnaby's only daughter Cully.

A year ago I spent two hours standing in a muddy field next to the A40, along with the other extras, waiting to be called to the set. It was hardly glamorous and played havoc with my heels.

Finally we were taken by minibus into the pretty and posh village of Denham in Buckinghamshire, whose church had been turned into St Mary's in Midsomer Parva for the day.

I spent an hour sitting in a pew, getting a little bored. The most exciting part, when some action acting was called for, was when we stood up (several times) for the bride's arrival.

Altogether the congregation had seven rehearsals and 10 takes, while the bride walked down the aisle FIVE times.

And all for a scene which takes up about 30 seconds of screen time, right at the end of the episode.

Barnaby (John Nettles) is busy solving three murders, which means he's late arriving at the church with Cully.

The guests are getting fidgety as we wonder what the hold-up is, and gossip about how Barnaby's first sidekick, Gavin Troy played by Daniel Casey, has returned for the big day.

You can see me in the background when his current sidekick, Sergeant Ben Jones, goes over to chat to Troy.

You might have seen more of me if Nigel, the extra in front of me, hadn't made a big acting deal of looking for his phone. He insisted on standing up and patting all his pockets, while I inwardly fumed he was getting in the way of my chance of fame.

Actress Emma Cunniffe, who plays a new love interest for Sergeant Ben Jones, also annoyingly blocks my shot at one point. How dare she!

Don't blink, or you'll miss me.

But I still think wearing the hat was a great move.