RED is the colour for Downham schoolboy Brendan Costello.

Hot on the heels of new TV series Born and Bred, set in the picturesque Ribble Valley village, Brendan, 11, is set to be the latest star on the small screen in a programme dedicated to the colour of his hair.

Oakhill College pupil Brendan will feature in the forthcoming Channel 4 documentary Ginger Nation, but his mop of red hair is the real subject of the show.

Ginger Nation is a half-hour documentary from Two Four Productions, commissioned by ALT-TV, a new film-making strand of Channel 4, committed to new talent.

It is the brainchild of Elliot Kew, a redhead himself, who wanted to learn more about why people have red hair and what it means to be ginger.

It shows Elliot's personal journey through life and investigates not only the genetic reasons for red hair, but also the cultural, behavioural and lifestyle implications of being a redhead.

For Brendan it meant playing Elliot as a boy and getting a taste of what it is like working in front of the camera.

But he took it all in his stride, even in the scene where he was being bullied at school.

Now back at his real school, Brendan said: "I thought the whole experience was fantastic."