=SHE may have once instructed us to "take that look off your face", but with any luck Marti Webb will give audiences permission to smile when she returns to The Mayflower this autumn.

The actress and singer has been announced as the star of West End hit Tell Me On a Sunday, which comes to the Southampton theatre in November.

Marti's last appearance at The Mayflower was when she played romantic heroine Anna in The King And I two years ago.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black's production tells the story of a British woman trying to find love and success in New York.

After much heartache and frustration, she begins to realise that maybe she has been looking for love in the wrong places.

Lloyd Webber and his lyric-writer created Marti Webb's character with the actress in mind. Their decision has proved to be a huge success.

When the original television special hit the screens in 1979, Marti Webb received huge critical acclaim for her performance, singing her million-selling hits Take That Look Off Your Face, Unexpected Song and Tell Me On A Sunday.

First performed as one half of the production Song and Dance in London and on Broadway, Tell Me On A Sunday has now been extended to entertain audiences for the whole evening.

Theatregoers be treated to five new songs, which have been written specially for this production.

Tell Me on a Sunday is at The Mayflower from November 29 to December 4. For tickets and information call 023 8071 1811.