A BLACKBURN schoolboy is to star in a ‘groundbreaking’ television drama with some of TV’s greats.

Nine-year-old Ibrahim Ismail, who is a student at Westholme School, will be seen tonight on BBC One’s The A Word.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The flagship drama is a new six-part series about an autistic child, Joe, and how his family deal with his autism.

The cast also features Nelson’s Lee Ingleby, who has starred in George Gently and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Other roles are played by TV favourites Christopher Eccleston, Morven Christie, Greg McHugh and Vinette Robinson.

The series has been written by BAFTA-winning Peter Bowker.

Ibrahim plays the role of Ramesh who is a school friend of Joe played by Max Vento who is diagnosed with autism.

He, said: “I have acted before on Gigglebiz for CBeebies.

“I would love to get a chance to act in a film and become famous.

“It’s very difficult to get selected after an audition but you have to keep trying your best.”

He said: “I had to learn a script and then I auditioned in front of the casting director on camera.

“I was really excited to be picked.

“I loved working with Lee Ingleby, Morven Christie and Max Vento.

“I didn’t want the filming to end as it was a great adventure for me and I got a chance to see what happens behind the scenes.”

Ibrahim’s mum Moonira Hinglotwala spoke of her pride at her son’s achievement.

She said: “Ibrahim always wanted to act from the age of five when he and his sister Alisha both auditioned to join an acting agency.

“He started performing at speech festivals in Burnley, Blackburn and Fleetwood where he’s won awards for reciting poetry and verse.

“It’s important that Asian parents allow children to take up acting as at present they are the minority on TV.

“It gives children the confidence to tackle real life situations such as interviews and presentations, skills which are important to be successful in life.”

The A Word airs on BBC One this evening at 9pm.