Singer Mya was thrilled to star in the upcoming big-screen version of the musical "Chicago" - because she was allowed to fatten up on junk food.

The "Lady Marmalade" star was stunned when movie bosses ordered her and co-stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger to chow down on as much sweet food as they could manage - because their roles required them to gain some weight.

Mya says, "My favourite memory of working on the film is when director Rob Marshall told all the girls that we could have as much desert as we wanted."

"Our costumes are very, very revealing, but it's set in the burlesque period - what was considered sexy back then was very plump women, so we were told to gain 10 pounds. It's usually the other way around so I really felt good about that."