A teenager from Horwich who decided at age five he wanted to perform after watching Billy Elliot the Musical has now trained at a top performing arts school and appears in a CBBC documentary series.
Lucas Haywood, now 16, told his mum during the production, "I want to be up there one day." Since then, he has appeared in Hollyoaks as Toby Wilde from age six to eight and starred in Nativity! The Musical at age 10. In 2022, he took on the role of Michael Caffrey, Billy's best friend, in Billy Elliot the Musical.
Training at Tring Park School
Lucas left home to train at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire, a co-educational independent day and boarding school for ages seven to 19. He said the move came after negative attitudes toward performing arts at his previous high school, and after seeing a student from Tring Park during Billy Elliot auditions.
"Because she seemed quite good, we had a little look into it, me and my mum, and we came to an open day, and I just went to my mum, 'I really, really want to go here!'" he explained. He auditioned and was accepted, and has now been at the school for three years, with two more in sixth form.
Overcoming negativity and sacrifices
Speaking about the negativity he faced, Lucas said: "I just didn't listen to them. I stayed on my own path. I'm not gonna get deterred by somebody who doesn't do it because they don't know what this life is like." He credited his mum for driving him to auditions in London before the era of self-tapes, saying she was always supportive.
He acknowledged the challenges: "There are definitely sacrifices. Musical Theatre is a gamble as well. It's luck, but it's also talent." His dream is to be in films, naming Jurassic Park and Marvel as ambitions, though he also loves musical theatre.
Stage Stars on CBBC
Lucas is among the students featured in series two of Stage Stars on CBBC, which follows the real-life journeys of performers at Tring Park School. The first series launched in October 2025 and included a dancer winning a ballet competition in Switzerland and a performer giving up a Starlight Express contract after breaking her arm.
Lucas said the show captures school life accurately: "Stage Stars really shows the great aspects of performing arts school. It really does show everything. It shows that no matter who you are, what you can do, at a school like this, you can shine." He added that while some parts are re-recorded, "all this stuff does happen."
