ACTRESS Amanda Ryan organised a special Day of Hopes in Calne for her biggest fans - her family.

The 31-year-old, who starred alongside Cate Blanchett in historical thriller Elizabeth, has relatives in Westbury, Chippenham and Calne on her mother's side, including her uncle - former Calne town crier John Marchant.

But Miss Ryan, who has had leading roles in television dramas such as The Forsyte Saga, Poldark and Great Expectations, had never met many of her relatives and feared her family was drifting apart.

She was determined not to let the opportunity to get closer to her family pass by and spent more than two months organising the event, which was attended by 30 relatives.

Miss Ryan, who lives in London, called the family reunion, which was held in Calne's Marden House on Saturday, the Day of Hopes, in reference to her mother's maiden name Hope and her aspirations for the meeting.

She said there was no feud or argument keeping her family apart, it was just stuck in the habit of not getting in touch.

"We've missed out on so much," said Miss Ryan, who has twin sisters and a brother. "I didn't know one of my cousins had married and had a child.

"If you ask most people they would probably say 'well that's what happens to families,' but it only happens that way if you let it."

She added: "It was a process of self-realisation. One day I'm going to have children and I want them to grow up within a close-knit family.

"It was an opportunity to bring people together again and for everyone to feel part of something and have a sense of belonging."

When relatives arrived they were each given a name badge and asked to write their name on it.

There was a list of abbreviations of family positions on a wall chart, including ga for great aunt and bro for brother and each relative was invited to write every abbreviation that referred to them on their badge.

Relatives also brought old photographs of them with sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts and uncles, to create a photo history of the family, which was displayed on the wall.

A computer was set up in the corner of the room with Internet access so the family could talk to Miss Ryan's 31-year-old sister Sian, who was unable to attend the reunion because she is currently posted to the Falkland Islands with the RAF.

"It took us all half an hour to say goodbye to many people who only met that day or had not seen each other for 15 years or more," said Miss Ryan.

"People were already talking about organising a similar event next year, which was just fantastic."