Stars align for social media marriage made in heaven

For the love of his life, the 27-year-old teacher was going to make sure that when he asked for her hand in marriage, it would be a moment neither of them would ever forget.

And to make sure it was a proposal to remember he enlisted the help of some celebrity 'friends' to make sure she would say yes.

Coronation Street Michelle Keegan, TOWIE's Mark Wright and even White Dee from Benefits Street were all drafted in to urge Natalie to accept his hand in marriage.

She accepted - and the loved-up couple are now planning to get married in the next two years.

Mr O'Leary, a teacher at Flash Ley Community Primary School in Stafford, said he originally intended to get his family and friends in the video.

But in a flash of inspiration he emailed Miss Heathcote's favourite celebrity Michelle Keegan's agents - and was amazed to get a response.

Despite getting some celebrity rejections, he got Mark Wright and White Dee on board. The celebrities each recorded a short video message urging Natalie to accept - and the result has now become an internet hit.

During a holiday to New York, Mr O'Leary took his pharmacy worker girlfriend to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and popped the question - but not before showing her the result of his efforts.

The 12-minute video begins with messages from friends and family - with some wearing masks of celebrities including Gary Barlow, Wolverhampton's Liam Payne and even Corontaion Street character Fred Elliot.

But a minute from the end, Deirdre Kelly - known as White Dee - appears and says: "Please say yes Natalie. Paul O'Leary loves you and wants you to marry him."

And Mark Wright then says: "Natalie, I'm Mark Wright, and I've just ...Paul and you should definitely say yes because he's a top geezer."

If she wasn't already stunned enough by then, Michelle Keegan pops up and simply says: "Please say yes Natalie," before the words 'Yes Nat, that really was Michelle Keegan' appear on the screen.

The last word is left for Mr O'Leary himself, who tells his fiancee he loves her 'more than you can possibly imagine' and adds: "Please give me a yes and make me the happiest man alive."

After the romantic gesture, the couple are now preparing to say 'I do'.

Mr O'Leary said today: "I did a bit of a romantic speech and then got down on one knee, asked the question but said 'before you answer - look at this'.

"She was completely overwhelmed and in tears. She was ecstatic."

The video has been watched more than 500 times on Youtube and has been retweeted across the globe.

Delighted Miss Heathcote, aged 26, admits she was absolutely bowled over by the lengths her fiance went to prepare his extra-ordinary proposal.

The couple, from Stafford, first laid eyes on each other as school pupils, but did not become an item until years later.

They have yet to set the date and the location for their big day.

She said: "I couldn't believe he had gone to all this effort, I thought it was amazing. I am a massive fan of Michelle Keegan so that was incredible.

"He can be very romantic but I never expected any of this. We have been together for three and a half years.

"We met at school and got together a few years later.

"We are just enjoying the engagement and will think about the wedding arrangements soon."

Mr O'Leary admits he now has a reputation to live up to - but insists he never expected to end up having so much success with the video.

He added: "I thought it was absoutely brilliant when they got back in touch with me. I wasn't expecting anything but thought it was worth a go.

"Natalie is very family-orientated so I wanted to get the family involved, so I recorded the video with them and it all just went from there.

"It's been great and I'm really grateful to the celebrities for taking part."