Young star Ben Gray is taking the pressures of fame in his stride.

Three nights a week Ben, 12, from Hove, travels to London's West End to appear in the hit musical Whistle Down The Wind.

It is the second time he has been selected to appear in the Andrew Lloyd Webber show at the Aldwich Theatre.

Ben, a pupil at Blatchington Mill School in Hove, has learned to juggle homework with the demands of his life on stage and dreams of hitting the big time.

He said: "In the holidays I get to lie-in, but during school it can be a bit tiring. I want to perform, it's good fun.

"My dream job would be to be famous. I would like to be in a band or something like that."

His mother, Hilary Palmer, said: "It is something he has done for himself and we have just encouraged him."