DAVE Mumford and Jim Everett were filmed by Meridian ITV on Wednesday for a piece that will go out at the beginning of the World Championships which starts on 21 April.

Oh, and they featured nine-year-old wonderkid Shane Castle as well.

Top presenter Gareth Evans, assisted by cameraman Steve, spent nearly three hours filming and talking to our budding star at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club. Shane came to Gareth’s attention after his exploits were splashed across the sports pages of the Daily Echo.

The youngster from Marchwood, who has a top break of 55, recently finished runner-up in the national under-12 competition at Pontin’s, Prestatyn.

Shane admitted it took some time getting used to the lights and having a camera pushed in his face. All of 30 minutes, apparently. He took it all in his stride but was most impressed by having a microphone attached to his shirt.

Gareth tried to play a shot to roll the pink over the pocket, leave the cue-ball behind the black and force Shane to play a three-cushion escape. But after several attempts, the seasoned TV reporter gave up and coach Dave Mumford stepped and completed the shot in only eight takes.

Suzie ’One-Take’ Opacic, of course, is on TV almost as much as Ant and Dec; she and Shane swapped stories in the bar today like two guests reliving their careers on Parkinson.