FOR many of us appearing on television is something we can only dream of and many more of us will never get the chance.

But for little Connor, from Braintree, his special moment has arrived at the tender age of just five as he prepares for his debut on the small screen.

That's because he will appear on The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds tonight (Thursday) and his mother said the youngster couldn't wait to watch the show.

Emily Gibson, the mother of five-year-old Connor, said: "He's really looking forward to it - he's been telling all his friends about it and making sure they're going to watch.

"They show you the episode slightly beforehand and it's actually really lovely. I suppose you're always going to have doubts about how it's going to come across, how much air time he's going to get and what's going to be said but we're very happy with it.

"It's funny because at home he's a bit wild but in the programme he comes across as being quite shy.

"We've had to keep it quiet for a long time but now we've be able to tell people and they've been really excited about it too.

"We'll be watching at home with lots of friends and family and the popcorn at the ready!"

The programme sees a group of youngsters put in a primary school environment while experts make comments on their behaviour and how they interact with each other.

Ms Gibson said her son was one of only 15 children to be chosen for the show from more than 6,000 applicants from parents across the globe.

She said: "I just saw an advert for it online and thought I'd give it a go so I uploaded a video of Connor dancing and they seemed to really like it.

"We didn't hear anything for a while and then we were invited down to a school in Epping for a play date type thing.

"They had cameras there which they were speaking to them in front of to see what they were like.

"Then we got a call to say that he was on the list of candidates and then we got another call to say he had been chosen.

"They just said he was a really lovely little boy.

"He has a bit of speech impediment too and I think they quite liked that because it gave them a bit of variety."

The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds will be on Channel 4 this evening at 8pm.

A second episode featuring Connor will also be on at the same time on Thursday, January 31.