Gyasi Sheppy: NI CBeebies presenter on his dream job

Gyasi Sheppy's co-presenters include Dodge the dog

Gyasi Sheppy has had "a crazy couple of months".

The 30-year-old former health worker from Lisburn landed his dream job as a presenter for the BBC's Cbeebies television channel in May, making his first appearance this week.

Gyasi has joined the presenting team in the CBeebies House, where his co-presenters include Dodge the dog.

Speaking to BBC News NI, he said stepping into a BBC studio for the first time was "absolutely surreal".

"I felt at home, but I also felt like I was going to wake up and tell my mum I had a mad dream that I got a job at CBeebies," he said.

'The world's biggest procrastinator'

Gyasi, who now lives in London, was working in an office until February.

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic was the impetus he needed to follow his ambition of becoming a presenter.

"I was the world's biggest procrastinator in my twenties, but I saw Covid and the first lockdown and I thought 'if I don't do this now it's never going to happen'."

"There have been lots of tears and lots of mistakes on the way"

So he signed up for a presenting course, made an audition video and within days the BBC had called him for a screen test in Manchester.

"This is something I've always wanted to do," he said.

"Anyone who knows me knows that I grinded away for more than a decade to get to this point- there have been lots of tears and lots of mistakes on the way.

"Now I get to go to work and get pies in my face, be on the most colourful set I've ever seen, sing songs and dance around - it's just insane," he added.

'Inclusivity and diversity'

Even though Gyasi said being on set is "the best laugh," he is highly aware of the influence children's television can have.

"Kids watch CBeebies for years and grow up with the presenters, which is a really nice thing to be a part of," he said.

He comes from a mixed race background and said the sense of inclusivity and diversity on the channel is noticeable.

"It's such a huge thing coming from Northern Ireland, especially for someone who looks like me," he said.

"On my very first training day I got to watch the other presenters, Evie, Ben and Rebecca, record links for Pride.

"It was beautiful actually."

Despite having relocated, he said his roots are still very important to him.

"Us Northern Irish like to celebrate anybody that gets anywhere in their career, but it kind of feels like, for the last couple of days, my wee country is really behind me.

"It's a really nice feeling - I'm going to hold on to it for as long as I possibly can."