SCREEN star Kate O'Mara has pulled out of a benefit concert after injuring her knee.

The Dynasty and Howard's Way actress was to compere an evening of hits from musicals and opera in aid of Brighton-based HIV charity the Sussex Beacon.

But she was forced to cancel her appearance after doctors told her an operation to repair cartilage in her knee would put her out of action for ten days.

Her personal assistant, Christine King, said: "She got the injury after performing on a sloping stage for 11 months and has been living on painkillers.

"She was very upset the performance has had to be cancelled and was even planning to do it sitting down with her leg up."

Kate has long connections with Brighton - her grandfather, Julian Bainbridge, was manager of the Theatre Royal in the late Forties and early Fifties.

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