'Heroes' star happy with cheerleader role

em>Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere has revealed that she was delighted to play a cheerleader in the show because she never got to be one in real life.

The 18-year-old, who stars as Claire Bennet in the NBC sci-fi drama, has been performing since she was a little girl and left school early to devote all her energy to her career.

She said: "I was so lucky to be popped into the cheerleader's outfit. I was never a cheerleader because I left school at the age of 16, then I made a film in Africa and after that I was schooled at home."