Quest to find Lyra

Auditions were held yesterday for the lead role of Lyra Belacqua in The Golden Compass, the film adaptation of Northern Lights, the best-selling novel by Oxford author Philip Pullman.

The auditions at the Examination Schools building in High Street, Oxford, were due to start at 10am, but with queues stretching the length of Merton Street, the casting calls started shortly after 8.30am. Some girls arrived as early as 5am.

Previous auditions in Cambridge and the Lake District have attracted 1,500 hopefuls. But Oxford being a location in the film and the home of Mr Pullman, made yesterday's casting extremely popular, despite the rain.

Alexandra Ruane, a spokesman for film-makers New Line Cinema, said casting directors were delighted by the large number of girls auditioning. She said: "The queues were incredible and 3,000 girls had arrived by 10.30am.

"Girls coming to audition don't need any acting experience because the film company wants whoever is chosen to be a bit unworldly and embody the spirit of Lyra."

Ms Ruane said casting directors would choose the girl they wanted to play Lyra by the summer. Some girls would be called back for a second round of auditions before the final selection was made, she added.

Yesterday girls were called in groups of 50 or more, before being asked to say their names, ages and addresses. Some were then asked to read part of the script for the cameras.

One hopeful, Olivia Frazer-Smith, 11, of North Oxford, said: "It was a bit cold waiting in the queue but I still want to be an actress, so I would come to an audition like this again."

q=candrew.ffrench@nqo.com "I thought Lyra would be interesting she goes on a great journey."

CHLOE SWANSON, 12, from Thame "I know I probably don't have a chance but it was a good experience."

VICTORIA ROLLEY, 12, from Somerset "It's the first time I've done something like this and it would be really cool."

DAISY GOODWIN, 10, from Watlington "I've always wanted to do this, but if I don't get the part it's still nice to come."

RHIANNON DIX, 10, from Abingdon "I want to do it because I like the book. I've been here since nine this morning."

KYRA BOWMAN, nine, from Watlington "I've travelled a long way because I want it so much. It's like a dream come true."

LINDSAY DEXTER, nine, from Derbyshire 100-0004 Emily Dymock, 9, Headington "I've come for just a bit of fun. I like drama and my mum told me about it - we found it on the internet. I'm quite excited - if I get the part all my friends will see me at the cinema. I've been here for two hours."

100-0011 Evangelina Cameron, 10, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire "I go to drama school every week and I want to do it because I have read the books. My dad found out about it and then I wanted to go. I think everybody should get the chance to do it. It will be really fun. I'm not nervous, just excited. I've been waiting for about two hours."

100-0012 Shona Probert, 14, Woking, Surrey I saw it advertised in the newspaper. I've come because I love acting and have always wanted to be an actress. I'm not nervous because I don't know what we're going to do. I've been queuing here since 9.30."

100-0015 Lucy Stroudley, 13, Headington I have just done the audition. It was good. They just asked us questions about the book and where we would like to go in the world and why. I have just come for the experience and to say I've done it." Caroline Piggott, mother of Tabitha, nine, who took part, said: "We have come all the way from Portsmouth. I tried to persuade Tabitha not to come but she insisted."

Phoebe Greggor, 11, from High Wycombe, made friends with Alicia Pocock, 10, from Richmond, and Ruby Young, 10, from Shipton-under-Wychwood, in the queue.

Phoebe said: "I wanted to come because I have read the book and I love acting." Northern Lights is the first part of Philip Pullman's award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy, which has rivalled the Harry Potter books in the popularity stakes.

The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass make up the trilogy, and Mr Pullman is said to be working on a fourth book with the possible title The Book of Dust.

In Northern Lights, Lyra's friend Roger disappears. She and her daemon, Pantalaimon, are determined to find him. Their quest leads them to the bleak splendour of the North, where a team of scientists are conducting horrible experiments.

WHO FITS THE BILL? LYRA is wily, nimble, small and cunning, and is a good climber after spending a lot of time out on the roof of her Oxford college.

She can be quite fierce and is a good liar, who is able to think on her feet and cover her tracks. She grows up in one of the colleges, but also feels quite at home with the canal folk in Jericho. Her daemon, the outward embodiment of her soul in animal form, appears in a number of different guises before fixing as a pine martin, a member of the weasel family, at the end of the trilogy.

She is a bit of a loner before she forms a strong bond with Will and falls in love with him.