A NINE-year-old from Widnes is taking on the Michael Parkinsons of the TV world by becoming a star interviewer.

Samuel Mottram is regularly rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous as a roving reporter on The Paul O'Grady Show. The young TV star auditioned for the programme a year and a half ago and fought off tough competition to make it on to the air with his natural gift for presenting and interviewing.

Audiences took to the youngster straight away and producers were so bowled over they invited him back to feature on the following series. Even when the TV programme switched to Channel Four, Samuel was asked back to take part in what is now his third series.

During his time on the show Samuel has had the chance to interview some big name stars including the cast of Harry Potter and has met a variety of famous faces that have appeared on the same show as him. He has also fronted fun features and went to meet cheese and bread makers as part of his job.

But the St Basil's Catholic Primary School pupil hasn't let his schoolwork slip either and has the full backing of his head teacher. He has impressed his teachers by keeping up his high standard of schoolwork and when he isn't busy interviewing big names, he's out playing football with his friends.

Samuel's mum, Donna, said: "I thought he wouldn't stand a chance, but within a week they wanted him to have a six month contract. When he first went on it they were amazed how quickly he learned lines and read the autocue."