Young performers act in BBC drama

The children, from North Kirklees and neighbouring areas, are members of Gomersal-based drama school Articulate Speech, Drama & Casting and have filmed in Yorkshire, Manchester and the Lake District for six-part series The A Word.

Poppy Dyson, six, from Overthorpe C of E Academy in Dewsbury, said: “It was so cool filming because we got to do lots of drama and everyone was really nice and gave us lots of nice things to play with when we weren’t filming. The food was delicious.”

Demi McDonald, eight, of Fieldhead Primary School in Batley said: “Acting is my dream! I loved meeting lots of new people on The A Word, it was such a fantastic opportunity.”

The programme, which started on Tuesday, centres around how the Hughes family handle the diagnosis of Joe, a young boy with autism.

Stacey Burrows, from Articulate Speech, Drama & Casting, said: “The work that the Articulate kids put into this project was incredible.

“It wasn’t the usual get up at 9am and film in a warm studio for a couple of hours affair – instead the kids were up really early some days and filming in the freezing cold playgrounds of the snowy Lake District!

“It’s really clear that the children absolutely loved the experience and the feedback about the Articulate kids, from those on production was fabulous.”

The group has worked in Bradford for some time and set up a branch in Kirklees last April. Since then several of its pupils have landed television parts, including Abby Dyson from Thornhill in the Quaker Oats advert, Josh Lobley from Gomersal in a gritty BBC drama and many children as extras in a range of programmes.

The programme is on BBC One on Tuesdays at 9pm and the first episode is available on BBC iPlayer.