A WOMAN who suffered burns to 33 per cent of her body is starring in a film portraying the victim of an acid attack.

Vicky Knight currently works in the burns unit at Broomfield Hospital – the same burns unit that treated her as a child.

But now, despite never acting before, Vicky has landed the lead role in Dirty God, after she shared a brutally honesty video about her burns on social media.

She was just eight years old when she was caught up in a flat fire.

Vicky was asleep in the flat when it was set on fire by an arsonist – two of her cousins died in the blaze as well as the man who saved her life.

Dirty God launched in cinemas at the end of last week, and tells the story of a young mum called Jade, who’s the victim of an acid attack.

Vicky was offered the part after making a video about her burns for social media – the video went viral and a few years later she was contacted by a casting director.

In the film, Vicky’s character spends her time searching online for clinics to perform surgery that her doctors have insisted would not work.

Vicky wore prosthetic make-up on her face during the film, but admitted there were a number of similarities between her, and the character she is portraying.

Speaking to Radio 1 Newsbeat she said: “”Jade goes through a horrendous journey. Co-workers who want to take the mick out of her – I’ve had that as well.

“The feelings I had back then, I had to put into the film and it was so hard. Mine was arson and hers was acid but the aftercare of burns is the same.”

Vicky fell asleep alongside her cousins in a flat above a London pub which caught on fire.

She was the only survivor from the fire, and spent three months in Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, undergoing multiple skin grafts and operations as a result. When she isn’t acting, Vicky works as a healthcare assistant at Broomfield.

And she has admitted that taking on the role in the film has changed her life, helping her to come to terms with the scars that remain from the fire 16 years ago.

She added: “”I got bullied a lot when I was in school, I got beat up. Even now I still get people calling me names and that’s 16 years on.

“It got to the point in my life a few years ago where I practically gave up. I didn’t want to live with my scars anymore.

“But after seeing the film I was like, ‘Wow, this looks like a bit of art’. This is my own artwork. I love my scars now, I’m proud of them. It’s me – it’s part of me.

“I want people to look at me and think I’m a role model to look up to.

“The film’s given me such a positive outlook on life. If someone else has been through it or hasn’t been through it, I hope they can take a little bit of hope and self-love away from it.

“It’s such a great feeling to say that I’m accepting my scars. They’re me now.

“If you don’t like it, don’t look at them.”