Thirty-two-year-old James Russell grew up on Mansfield's Ladybrook estate and had always dreamt of appearing on the small screen when he was studying at Brunts School and West Notts College.

Now living in St Albans, Hertfordshire, James spent several years after leaving college trying to get his big break into television by working as a stand-up comedian and then as a film and television script writer.

Says James: "I always wanted to work in TV. It's a very hard industry to break into though and I'd pretty much given up and was working as a manager at DFS."

But it was just when James least expected it when the opportunity came up for him to present the primetime slot on the auction channel.

"It was a freak accident getting the job really, my girlfriend does TV work as a dancer and saw an Ad and thought it would be fun to make a showreel of me and enter it for a laugh," he told Chad.

"The next thing I knew I got invited for an interview and then a second interview and was offered the job."

James has now worked at the station for three years alongside household names like Paul Ross and Cheryl Baker –– who he says have been a great help.

"You get to learn lots about how to develop yourself from them, as long as you don't mind listening to them talk about themselves for a bit!" he said.

"My advice for anyone else is to make sure you are perseverant. You get your first audition and you expect to get it because you lie awake dreaming of it, but there's 10,000 other people who are probably all thinking the same thing as you are."