With 14 Oscar nominations under her belt, Meryl Streep is generally on the receiving end of gushing fan letters.

But after watching the stage musical Mamma Mia! on Broadway she decided to fire one off herself – with remarkable consequences.

The praise-packed note she sent to the show's cast eight years ago has now landed her a starring role in the new Abba movie based on the musical.

Scroll down for more

Mamma Meryl: Streep stars as single mum Donna in the big screen version of Abba musical Mamma Mia!

The letter found its way into the hands of director Phyllida Lloyd, producer Judy Craymer and writer Catherine Johnson.

And when they began casting for the £35million Hollywood version, almost two years ago, they remembered the note and cheekily asked Ms Streep if she would be interested in the role of single mum Donna.

The Hollywood star, 58, said: "They called and said, 'You probably won't be interested but ...'

"I said, 'Are you crazy? I would love to do this.' It was a done deal."

Scroll down for more

Search: Amanda Seyfried plays her daughter Sophie, who is looking for her real father

"Of course, I was up in the aisle, dancing and screaming and yelling," she said. "It was an infusion of joy – I just fell in love with it."

After signing up Ms Streep, who won Oscars for Kramer vs Kramer and Sophie's Choice, the producers had no trouble in attracting other A-list actors.

Scroll down for more

Likely lads: The candidates for the position of her father are Stellan Skarsgård, Pierce Brosnan or Colin Firth

The three likely candidates are ex-007 Pierce Brosnan, Bridget Jones star Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård, who played Bootstrap Bill in Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End.

Sophie invites all of them to her wedding on a Greek island – to her mother's embarrassment – and the storyline unfolds to a soundtrack of Abba songs.

Ms Streep sings nine Abba hits in the film, including Money Money Money, Dancing Queen and Mamma Mia.

She admits she was nervous singing in front of Abba star Benny Andersson, who is an executive producer.

But, explaining how she simply got on with it, she said: "It was rock and roll. You just did it. I worked with the musical director three, four times before I stepped into the recording studio.

"They just threw us in, shot us out of a cannon. And pretty much that is what you hear on the soundtrack."

The star, who has four children, said: "Everybody at my house is real sick of hearing it.

"But my daughter Gracie said, 'Mom, as annoying as you are, I just can't get the songs out of my head!'"

However, Ms Streep was not a fan of Abba during their Seventies heyday.

She confessed: "I was in drama school at the height of their popularity and I was listening to nothing but Lou Reed."