A 13-year-old Basildon schoolboy is aiming to put on one of the biggest talent shows ever staged in Essex.

Dave Reynolds hopes the performance, scheduled for later this year, will raise lots of cash for Children in Need.

He also hopes the show, called Simply the Best, will attract an audience of about 400 people and unleash some of the undiscovered talent that exists in the county.

The De La Salle school pupil is himself a successful singer, who performed on the Barrymore Show when it visited Lakeside last month.

Dave, of Pinmill, Basildon, was chosen to represent Essex, after attending an audition in London.

He was also the lead singer in a band called Millennium and has just returned from the Isle of Wight where he has been performing with Essex Youth Road Show 2000.

With the help of his De La Salle media teacher, Fred Priory, Dave hopes the show will make others realise how much untapped talent there is in Essex.

He said: "It's a whole variety show and we want as many young people to audition as possible.

"They can be magicians, singers, comedians - or anything which is a class act.

"There's no other really big event like this in Essex and so all that talent that is here just isn't being seen."

Dave's dad Bev, a repairman for Ford, is confident his son will pull off the successful event.

Bev, 45, said: "He's very ambitious and whatever he's said he's going to do before, he's made a success of it.

"He works very hard, both on and off stage."

Dave helped organise another charity show at Gable Hall School, Southend Road, Corringham, earlier this year.

EastEnders star Michelle Collins was in the audience of the show, held in memory of 16-year-old Jasmine The, a Chadwell St Mary youngster who died from cancer last year.

A sponsor is needed for the forthcoming show - as is a a venue - though Dave is considering staging it at the Civic Hall in Grays.

Any youngsters interested in auditioning for the show should telephone him on 01268 282562.

Budding impressario - young Dave

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