ACTRESS Anna Massey might be diminutive in stature but she proved larger than life at the Swindon Festival of Literature.

A star of stage and screen, she captured the audience's attention with some candid and emotional tales of childhood, family and stardom, all subjects of her new book, Telling Some Tales.

"Even though it's an autobiography, its not really about me," said Anna. "It is more about the many people I have met over the years and experiences I had with them."

She reeled off a list of stars including Alfred Hitchcock, Noel Coward, Audrey Hepburn and John Gielgud to name but a few.

Anna's upbringing was far from normal her father, the actor Raymond Massey, walked out on her mother when Anna was one and she talked about it at length to the audience.

She also talked about the problem of stage fright something which actors and actresses rarely talk about but is still a problem for many.

"Stage fright blocks off the character you are trying to play. If you are confident, you can be waiting in the wings absorbing your character but stage fright will block you from doing that," she said.