New Forces Sweetheart jets in for RIAT (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

New Forces Sweetheart jets in for RIAT

NEW Forces Sweetheart Claire Sweeney described at the launch of this year's Tattoo how a jet fighter flight on her way to RAF Fairford had made her feel "a bit ropey."

Actress and singer Claire, star of Brookside, Celebrity Big Brother, and the West End success Chicago, was flown to the base in an RAF Tornado by Wing Commander Derek Watson.

And she described how, during the 85-minute trip which had begun with a flight over her Liverpool home, Wing Commander Watson had taken the Tornado through a 12,000-foot loop.

"As we we came shooting down from it I suddenly thought 'this is how it must feel to be in an air crash' and I felt a bit ropey then," she said. "But otherwise I felt very safe with Derek."

When her aircraft taxied to a halt in front of a crowd of photographers, Claire made her way to a pavilion with RIAT officials, principally for a security check.

But later she admitted: "When I got out I just needed a few minutes to get myself together.

"It was a fantastic experience, that flight, and something I am glad to have done, but I think once is enough."

She said she was looking forward to being the new Forces Sweetheart over the next two years, visiting British Forces serving overseas.

"Vera Lynn gave everyone so much pleasure," she said. "If I can bring even a bit of that to our boys and girls away from home I will be happy."

Her first trip, she said, was likely to be early next year, and the destination was not yet certain.

"I would like to go to the Falklands sometime," she said. "My brother was there in the Army and I would like to see it."