10:10pm Friday 12th March 2010
By Emma Palmer
A YOUNG boy is heading for a head-spinning adrenaline rush Down Under as he gets to live out every schoolboy’s fantasy.
Brandon Barns, 12, will be jetting off to sun-drenched Australia for three weeks of thrilling adventure as a contestant on one of TV’s most popular children’s programmes.
The youngster, from Canvey, has beaten thousands of other hopefuls to win a place on BBC1’s Escape from Scorpion Island, which is filmed in Queensland’s Talle-budgera Valley.
On the Bafta-nominated adventure gameshow contestants try to escape from an exotic island by doing various challenges, such as tandem skydiving, abseiling out of a helicopter and parasailing over crystal clear waters.
His mum Debbie, 45, said: “We are so proud of Brandon. He beat so many others to get picked. This is the chance of a lifetime.”
Brandon will fly from Heathrow for the filming, along with the 23 other youngsters, on Saturday, April 3.
Debbie will be staying at home to care for Brandon’s siblings Daniel, 19, Chondelle, 16, and Paige, 14, in George Close, Canvey.
Debbie said: “I will miss him so much, but this is an amazing opportunity for him.
“They take really good care of the children on the show and they have chaperones to look after them.
“I don’t think he’ll be giving us a second thought back home with all the amazing things he’ll be doing.”
His teachers and friends at Cornelius Vermuyden School are thrilled for Brandon.
The youngster, who had to undergo a series of physical challenges to get on the programme, added: “I can’t wait to go. I was just over the moon when I heard the news that I’d been picked.
“Australia here I come!”
On Scorpion Island, hosted by DJ duo JK and Joel, the adventurers are divided into two teams, known as Sting and Claw.
Over three weeks, the teams must complete various challenges in order to gain various advantages and get off the island.
Debbie added: “The fact Brandon got on to the programme goes to show young people can achieve anything if they put their minds to it.”
It will be screened later this year on CBBC.
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