I recently met this rising star of the BBC 1 show 'I'd Do Anything' and I can honestly say I have never been so fortunate to meet someone so young with such an awareness of his natural ability to perform as magnificently as he can.
I accompanied the earnest young fella and his father Lenny to the production of the show at the weekend where he was preparing to sing and dance his little socks off to try and impress judges Denise Van Outen, John Borrowman and Sir Andrew Llyod-Webber. Gareth is in with a chance of becoming Oliver in the West End stage show of the same name, a dream of his which could soon become reality if he's successful.
Although I've taken part in several live broadcasts before, there was something much more intimate in the way the set had been put together which made the night not only more intense for the finalists waiting to be picked for the role of Oliver and also for the group of girls who are in with the chance of being chosen to play Nancy. Three of the girls are from Ireland and are currently hot favourites, Jesse, Rachel and Niamh.
I noticed throughout the evening that Graham Norton kept looking over at me as if to say 'I know him from somewhere' but couldn't think where from and at one point he seemed to wink and say 'Happy Birthday'. One audience member then offered me a Kit-Kat but I politely declined and insisted that Graham had been mistaken.
One thing Graham Norton has never been known for and that's a great sense of fashion. He did appear very festive with his choice of outfit on the evening, however, and I couldn't help myself when I said to him, 'Red and green should never be seen, except maybe on an old Irish Queen'. Members of the audience seemed to find the quote more amusing than he did. I think it was at that point all interchange between us both came to an abrupt end.
The evening was worth going over for. It is an extremely long and stressful day for all the performers and I found myself getting caught up in all of the emotion by the end of the final performance. It's then when they have to say their goodbyes to one of the girls who had been hoping to become the next Nancy. Audience members have to sit through it all and endure yet another person's dreams being taken away from them.
I worry about the boys though, as they are a lot younger. I hope that they can cope with the rejection that will be inevitable for nine out of the 12. It will all be part of their life experiences and my wish is that it will make them even more determined than they were before entering the competition.
Just as John Barrowman mentioned on the night, regardless whoever gets chosen, all 12 are leading men of the future. And, of course, Derry has supplied one of those 12. All we can do is wait in excitement and continue to watch Gareth's energy and enthusiasm radiate from our screens every week. For me it's how he sings the songs that's the key, the emotion he can put across. He truly has a gift.

Seány.