When actress Joan Collins wants a posh manicure she knows who to call. The former star of Dynasty rings up Bradford expert Leighton Denny and has him flown out to wherever she is in the world - every fortnight.

The three times winner of the British Nail Technician of the Year Award is to talons what Nikki Clarke is to hair and at the grand old age of 27 drives a Mercedes SLK and lives in the swish area of Marylebone in London.

And other stars now clamour to see him.

Chris Evans's pop star wife Billie Piper is a satisfied customer.

He's tended to the toe nails of Meg Matthews, the estranged wife of Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher, and has given former Big Brother celebrity Helen Adams a manicure,

But one of his favourite celebrity clients is Hollywood's very own glamour girl and acclaimed actress Joan Collins.

"I first went to see her at her apartment in London and I was so nervous," said Leighton, a former Tong School pupil.

"But she's really nice and so normal. As soon as she hears my accent she always wants to know about Bradford."

Leighton said he came to Joan's attention after her daughter, Tara Newley, recommended him to her mum after she popped into his salon for some nail treatment.

Now Joan flies him out to titivate her talons wherever she is in the world. "I go out every two weeks whether she's in London or in New York," said Leighton, who recently caught up with the star in St Tropez.

While there, he found himself on the other side of the camera being filmed at work and out shopping with Tara for a documentary.

But he's modest about his success and has never forgotten his home city where he launched his first enterprise.

"I'd always wanted to work in the salon industry. I was going to be a hairdresser, then my mum had her nails done on a family holiday in America and I thought I'd have a go at that," said Leighton, who initially launched a mobile business round Bradford before opening a nail salon in his parents' Tong Street business premises.

But Leighton soon spotted a niche he was keen to fill. "I saw the likes of Nikki Clarke who's a household name for hair and shampoos, and I realised there was no leader in the nail industry.

"So I put some stuff in a sports bag and said I wanted to go to London to see what happened."

He arrived at Kings Cross with his worldly possessions tucked into his bag and booked himself into a bed and breakfast for a month or so until he found his feet.

Then he literally found a fortune.

A group of lottery winners asked him to open an exclusive nail salon in Golders Green which, he said, gave him the experience to open his own business - Award Winning Nails - in the Capital's West End.

But as word of his talon talents spread, he soon had the top beauty and fashion magazine editors knocking on his door and, in October, merged his business into the Michaeljohn salon.

"It's a real celebrity hang-out," said Leighton who, when he isn't doing his clients' nails and giving top tips on TV, is creating his own manicure designs to grace the covers of the country's top beauty magazines.

These include the most expensive manicure in the world which he did for a magazine photo-shoot. He used real diamonds, rubies and sapphires for the manicure which cost £16,500 and took 16 hours to complete.

But Leighton, who's about to launch his own nail care product range, still can't quite believe how quickly his career has taken off.

"One minute I'm on a shoot with Marie Claire, then the next morning I might be going to Brussels to see a celebrity client, or I might be flying off on another shoot," he said.

But he admitted: "It is hard work, so it's nice to come home because it's like a pressure cooker in London, everything moves so fast.

"So when I do get time to myself, I just like to lig out on the couch, catching up with the soaps!"