Romeo and Duet: Sheffield man features on ITV's new show, fulfilling performing arts dream

Leon Brown, aged 28, is from Handsworth in Sheffield, and his heart has always been in the performing arts sector, from singing to dancing.

Leon says he has ‘always been a performer’, but being young, he never really had the confidence to step out and do it on the big stage, despite it being his dream. He always sang in church and performed in school talent shows, but up until recently, he never gave it a go on a wider scale.

Around three years ago, Leon decided to take a ‘leap of faith’ and try to get his big break in performing arts.

"I wanted to give the performing and the TV, and kind of reality TV side a go. I’ve always been into it and I thought to myself ‘you know what, Leon, you’re getting to 26 now’ and so I decided to give it a real shot,” said Leon.

"I decided to apply for some extras work in Everyone’s Talking about Jamie. I got to do a bit of extras work, it wasn’t too big but that kind of gave me a buzz to kick on and really do what I always thought I was meant to do in terms of performing – whether that be singing, dancing or acting."

After doing some more extras work for various shows, Leon took the opportunity to step out of his shell and apply for performing roles and jobs.

From doing some music videos and TV commercials, Leon saw the opportunity to apply for ITV’s brand new show, Romeo and Duet.

The show gives contestants the chance to sing a song and impress a single person to win themselves a date, if the person selects them ahead of the other contestants.

Despite there being thousands of applicants, Leon was informed his application was successful.

The show was filmed in Manchester and Leon thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to show off his talents on a national scale.

"I was quite a bit nervous at first,” said Leon on the experience. “I’ve not really sung in front of a live audience before, so I was quite nervous, with this being a challenge I have not had to deal with before."

Leon’s episode of Romeo and Duet is set to be aired on Saturday, June 11, and he is really excited to see himself on national television.

After the filming of the show, Leon has gone onto to find more opportunities in performing arts to further his career, including opportunities with Sky and BBC. He is also beginning a new dance academy in his area, called Vibez-En-MotionAcademy, for young children.

On his experience, Leon said: “It was good being able to prove people wrong who thought I wasn't going to amount to anything – all the haters, people that spoke negatively about me, even though if people want to put you down and speak negative about you, they will.

"Hopefully I can be a role model for young people who perform and potentially would want to be on reality TV in the future.”

To follow Leon’s journey, follow his Instagram: @leonbrown_official.