Lisburn man Gyasi follows his dream and becomes the face of children's television

Growing up Gyasi dreamt of being a dancer but those dreams were cut short at the age of just 28 when he broke his ankle in three places and was told he would never dance again.

He had to give up his career and spent six months just learning to walk again. When the pandemic hit the former Fort Hill College student took a job as a medical secretary at the Lagan Valley Hospital and was forced to re-evaluate his whole life.

Admitting to going through a period of depression, Gyasi decided that as the Covid lockdown came to an end he would pick himself up again and follow a new dream.

“I definitely fell into a pit of depression,” explained Gyasi. “I had to pull out of contracts and I couldn’t do panto. I had to learn to walk again and it was all mentally draining.

"I worked in the Lagan Valley Hospital for 18 months. After lockdown I thought I had always wanted to go to London and I had always wanted to do TV presenting. If I couldn’t dance, I always had that in the back of my head.”

So Gyasi took the leap and moved to London in the hope of making his new dream become a reality, “I decided I had to try it before I turned 30 or I would always regret it,” continued Gyasi. "I started making some connections and training and put a showreel on Youtube.”

Within just three weeks Gyasi was contacted by the BBC asking if he would be interested in auditioning to present on CBBC. A whirlwind of auditions and meetings followed before he got the all important call offering him a job presenting on Cbeebies.

"From March to May 2021 I went from being totally unknown working in a hospital to being on the biggest children’s channel on TV,” continued Gyasi, who still can’t quite believe the change in fortunes.

"I know I am very lucky, all the stars aligned when I needed it. If I had never moved to London I would never have got the job and things could be so different.”

Gyasi loves his job entertaining the nation’s children but he is also looking forward to ticking another dream off his bucket list when he takes to the stage of the Grand Opera House in Cinderella, where he will be playing Dandini alongside the queen of panto May McFettridge.

"This will be my Grand Opera House debut,” Gyasi revealed. “I haven’t been home in three Christmasses so I jumped at the opportunity. It’s going to be lovely to see friends and family.”

Rehearsals for the festive extravaganza will kick off on November 21, giving Gyasi and the cast just two weeks to perfect their roles before the curtain goes up on December 3.

With so many dreams becoming a reality, Gyasi has one more dream he would like to fulfil – to take to the ballroom in Strictly Come Dancing. “After being told by doctors that I would never dance again, I would love to prove them wrong and maybe even lift the glitterball trophy one day.”