SHE'S found national fame for being part of TVs most dysfunctional family, but seven-year-old Eden Taylor Draper could not be happier.

Eden, of Selby, made her TV debut as little Belle Dingle on ITV soap Emmerdale last week, becoming one of the youngest members of the good-for-nothing Dingle clan.

She's made good friends with cast members during her time on the set and spent a week in Spain filming forthcoming episodes.

Proud parents Niki and Richard still cannot believe their daughter is a budding soap star.

"We took her to an acting school in Selby because she was always dancing around the house, which can be difficult when you're trying to hoover," said Niki, 32.

"But instead of telling her to quieten down or play in her room, we thought we'd nurture it.

"One day we got a call telling us to ring an agent in Leeds who knew of a part coming up in Emmerdale. He had seen Eden the night before and thought she'd be perfect for it.

"He said not only had she learned her own lines, but she knew when another girl was wrong, which meant she had learned other people's lines too. He was really impressed." Eden fought off competition from about 30 other children to win the part.

She spends no more than two days a week on set, and has a tutor to teach her during filming.

The rest of the time she attends Selby Abbey Primary School, where her classmates have responded well to her fame.

"They're so young that they're really down to earth about it all and that's how we wanted it," said Niki. "She's taken to acting like a duck to water, but to us it just seems as though she's just playing."

Eden has become close to the actors who play her on-screen family, particularly Andy Divine, Jane Cox and Charley Webb, who play Shadrach, Lisa and Debbie.

Niki said Eden was having a fantastic time.

Updated: 12:33 Tuesday, October 25, 2005