BAFTA-winning actress Lauren Socha is to appear at Derby Crown Court charged with racially assaulting a taxi driver.

A Derbyshire police spokeswoman confirmed that the 21-year-old from Littleover had been arrested following a complaint.

She said: "The alleged assault took place around 2am on October 1 at the Morledge in Derby city centre.

"She was arrested and charged with racially aggravated assault."

Socha, a former pupil at St Benedict Catholic School, Darley Abbey, did not want to comment yesterday.

She is best known for her role as Kelly Bailey in E4's Misfits. It was for this role that she won the Bafta for Best Supporting Actress in May last year.

Then in November, she picked up the Ultimate TV Actress award from the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women Awards in London.

Socha has also featured in Channel 4 film The Unloved – which earned her a Bafta nomination – and BBC1 drama Five Daughters, about five women murdered in Ipswich in 2006.