A BOY and his dog from Week St Mary, made their debut television appearance recently, after featuring on ITV1’s Little Big Shots.

Twelve-year-old Will Bacchus and his Spaniel, Aston, were thrilled to have appeared on Wall to Wall’s Little Big Shots on Sunday evening, when Will walked comedy actress, Dawn French, through a typical agility course.

With Will’s episode having been filmed during the October half term, his entire family eagerly glued themselves to their TV screens recently to catch a glimpse of Will and Aston’s time spent with Dawn.

Will told the Post: “I just had to sit down, talk to Dawn French and show her what I can do! This was all in front of an audience, and we had a couple of rehearsals before filming.”

He described Dawn — who is most famous for her roles in the Vicar of Dibley, French and Saunders, Absolutely Fabulous, Jam and Jerusalem and, most recently, Sky One’s Delicious — as ‘really, really nice — a really good sport with what I was doing too’.

Although excitement was imminent, Will said nerves really started to kick in: “I was excited the day before filming, but the next day when we were waiting to go on — because I was second to last to be filmed — it was really nerve-wracking. We also had to stand behind a door before going on, and just waiting there was a bit daunting too.”

Will and Aston constantly busy themselves with agility competitions — and this year is no exception. Mum Michele said that Will and Aston will be travelling all over the country — from the Midlands to Gatwick — to compete in agility competitions. It is now high agility season, and it’s a busy time for the family. Will is also aiming to qualify for the adult side of Crufts in November.

Little Big Shots will be showing their second series after receiving commission following the success of the first series, shining a spotlight on some of the world’s most talented children — including Will.

Little Big Shots is a Warner Bros’ Wall to Wall production for ITV, and is commissioned for six episodes lasting an hour each every Sunday.

Based on the hit US format, the show is a showcase for four to 13-year-olds to take to the stage and show viewers that kids can make it in the world of performance too.

Series one saw talents that ranged from classical music masters and a miniature chef to a ventriloquist and a marvelous magician — and, of course, Britain’s youngest shepherd, and his sheep.

There were tiny dancers, pop sensations, an audacious scooter stunt kid and a spelling bee specialist — all of whom were only just out of nursery.

For the new series, the producers are looking forward to spreading the net even further to find amazing, talented children bursting with enthusiasm and eager to demonstrate a multitude of skills.

Dawn, the show’s host and award-winning actress and comedienne, said: “It’s the show where I get to hang out with incredibly talented children from all over the world, making new friends on the sofa each week.”