Twenty-one-year-old Media Performance student James Baller spent a month onset in Malaysia filming alongside Michelle Keegan for the show, now in its fourth series.

“I played the role of a village boy called Ezra. He is a hunter who sets traps around the forest to catch wild animals to feed my village. Upon going to check one of his traps, Ezra stumbles upon an injured Captain James and Georgie Lane, played by Michelle Keegan. Ezra helps them escape the jungle and the bandits that are pursuing them,” said James.

“The whole experience has been exciting and life changing. Prior to this, I had never been abroad alone, so I had to learn a lot of new life skills on my own,” said James.

Filming in a tropical paradise was not as idyllic as it first appeared – James was bitten by leeches daily and even tore a muscle in his knee, requiring hospital treatment.

James pushed through filming and forced himself to walk, and even run, without a limp in front of the camera, despite the immense pain he was in.

“Despite being unable to walk properly, I never let this slow me down and I had to force myself to walk ‘normally’ during filming,” said James.

James is now looking to the future and has his sights set on a career in acting.

“I hope this experience will open many more doors for me and the people around me. My next goal is to finish university and then go on to conquer the world of acting!” said James. “One day I aspire to make it to Hollywood just so I can show the world that hard work and dedication pays off, no matter where you come from.

“I grew up in South London and many of my peers have fallen into gangs, died or gone to prison. I hope to inspire others to do better and to show them that there is so much more to life.”

James’ tutor, Course Coordinator for Media Performance Rachel Clark, said: “It is a delight to see our students working outside of their studies, whist at University, especially when they land parts in BBC prime time dramas! We are very proud of James who is juggling both his acting career alongside his studies. It is a credit to him to see him achieving both. He has one year left on the Media Performance course and who knows what we will be watching him in next year.”