A TALENTED young boy 'blessed' with a gift for dancing has added to his collection of centre stage performances by starring in ITV's latest talent show.

Earley-born Emile Gooding, 11, appeared on the latest episode of Little Big Shot's, performing a heart-warming piece of ballet which left host Dawn French speechless.

Emile is no stranger to being under the spotlight and performing in front of big crowds and he is currently playing the leading role of Billy Elliot in a four-month UK tour.

His mother, Sedge Gooding, was incredibly proud when she saw her son closing the show in an emotional performance, although she admits to feeling sad by not seeing him while he is away touring.

She said: "I was teaching a class, so I had to dash home and within two minutes of walking through the door he was on TV. He is not at home at the moment because he is doing Billy Elliot, so it is just lovely seeing Emile more than anything.

"All he has ever wanted to do is dance. His passion is dancing. He is not driven by having praise and lots of people watch him. It is just in his soul to dance.

"I think he has been blessed with a natural gift, but he also has to work extremely hard. He lives and breathes dancing but he is lucky that he has the attitude and discipline to strive to always be better.

"Somebody approached us after seeing clips of Emile dancing on Youtube and they asked if we would be interested in performing. He was absolutely ecstatic and meeting Dawn French was brilliant."

Emile started dancing at the tender age of six and he has since gone onto perform at the Royal Albert Hall in Swan Lake with the English National Ballet, as well as Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge Theatre in London.

He was scouted by the producer's of Little Big Shots after winning several prestigious dance competitions, including the All-England Dance and the Janet Cram Awards.