Great Bedwyn youngster reaches for the stars

Jack Callaghan, who has interviewed several celebrities, has been named young interviewer of the year by Filmclub

AN ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy who has interviewed the likes of Sir Michael Caine and Sir Elton John during the past year as an ambassador for Filmclub, has been named young interviewer of the year.

Jack Callaghan, of Church Street, Great Bedwyn, beat thousands of other entrants to became a young ambassador for Filmclub, a charity offering children free access to films, industry screenings and premieres, in October last year.

Since then, he has interviewed some of the biggest names in film such as head of Pixar Studios, John Lasseter, Sir Elton John and David Furnish at the premiere of Gnomeo and Juliet, for which they were executive producers, and most recently Sir Michael Caine and Matt Lucas at the premiere of Pixar's latest offering, Cars 2.

The former Great Bedwyn Primary School pupil, who is starting at St John's School in Marlborough in September, said: “The person I most enjoyed interviewing was Matt Lucas because he was extremely funny. He gave me about five minutes of his time, it was more like a conversation than an interview.

“I also enjoyed my interviews with Sir Michael Caine and Sir Elton John. Sir Michael Caine shared his umbrella with me because it was chucking it down during our interview.

“I was nervous before my first interview because it's not like chatting to a normal person but after the first one I was ok. I also had to make sure I did all my research on the celebrities I was interviewing.”

Jack, who has also recently recorded a documentary about Second World War prisoner of war, Cal Younger, called Return of the Navigator, has been named best Filmclub interviewer in the eight to 12 age group.

He said: “I was very happy to be awarded. It was a big surprise, I really didn't expect anything so I was chuffed to bits.

“I have been helped by my teacher, Sam Wood, who gave me a lot of confidence, and my classmates who have supported me throughout the year.

“I'm going to miss being an ambassador but the opportunity has given me a great start in the media industry.”

For further details on Filmclub, which has 250,000 members, and how to join, click on the link below.