A Stansted student was thrilled to hear his voice on television for the first time, after being chosen from dozens of hopefuls despite having no previous acting experience.

Harry Reeve is the new voice of Brewster, one of the main train characters in the CBeebies animation Chuggington.

Harry, a Year 8 student at Forest Hall School, sat with his family as his first episode aired.

He said: “It was really weird watching the programme as I had never imagined hearing my voice on TV. I could remember reading the lines as I watched it.

“It is my dream to become an actor.

“It has been really fun.”

Producer Jacqueline White, from Chuggington Productions, said: “The character that Harry voices has always been a hard one to cast. When we found Harry, we had auditioned more than 60 boys for the part.

“As soon as we met him, we knew he was our Brewster! Not only has he been perfect for the part, with his distinctive husky voice, but Harry has a great work ethic, very professional, always ready to perform and put his very best effort into the recordings, even after a long day at school.”

Proud mum Theresa said: “This was the first role Harry had auditioned for – and he got it!

“He was offered the role in August 2019, but the pandemic put a big delay on things. The school has been brilliant allowing him to attend the regular recording sessions.

“We have no background in acting and so did not know what to expect. It was really interesting and Harry loved it.

“We all sat round as a family to watch the first episode. It was pretty amazing to hear Harry’s voice on TV and see his name in the credits.

“I am so proud of him, especially after seeing all the hard work he has put into this.”

Hannah Jones, head of school, said: “Everyone at Forest Hall is really proud of Harry. He has worked incredibly hard on Chuggington. It is great to see him fulfilling his dream and appearing in the show.”