Teen's 'amazing experience' on The Piano

When Will Renton was six playing the piano was a way to escape his lessons at school. Little did he know that 11 years later his talent would see him feature on Channel 4's The Piano - and gain him host Claudia Winkleman's seal of approval.

Arriving at Manchester Piccadilly Station earlier this year, the 17-year-old, from Ripon, took a seat at the upright piano and performed a jazzy tune in front of a crowd of commuters.

He then strode out of the station, leaving onlookers wanting more.

"It's quite an amazing experience actually, being able to stop playing and then leave the room hanging," Will said.

"That's the best feeling ever."

Although incredibly nervous at first, the North Yorkshire teenager said he soon forgot about everyone watching him.

"My hands were shaking away, it took a little bit to get settled but I almost relaxed into the piece," he explained.

"You forget that you're performing for people, and it's only at the end when you've got all these people clapping, standing up and whooping behind you, then you think, 'oh yeah, I was performing there'."

Will was introduced in the programme as an extremely busy young person.

Between juggling his schoolwork, volunteering with the Scouts and working part-time as a milkman, Will also supports his sister Ellie, who has spinal muscular atrophy.

However, he still finds time in his hectic life to pursue his passion for music by playing the piano, guitar and French horn, as well as dabbling in percussion.

"Piano is my main instrument and I've been playing since I was in Year Two," Will explained.

"I started in primary school, almost as a bit of an escape from lessons.

"Then at secondary school, I got a new teacher and she pushed me on with my piano playing and found a massive love of music in me."

The teenager was invited to audition for the show through his school, after winning an Unsung Hero prize at the Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards, leaving Will in shock.

"I feel like I'm alright at piano, but I didn't think that I was TV show material," he laughed.

Speaking to Claudia Winkleman on the day, The Piano presenter joked that she wanted Will "to have a lie down", after learning he would be playing the French horn in his school's production of Oliver that same evening.

"He's amazing, I'm going to go home and shout at my children," she told Will's dad after his performance.

"I'm just going to say, 'be more William'."

Once the show aired in August, the teenager said the comment from Claudia had been a "highlight" that well-wishers had repeated to him.

"Clearly I'm doing something right," he laughed.

"Claudia was a really nice, lovely person and the thing that struck me about her was that she knew about me, which was a nice feeling."

Although Will did not win, he was grateful for the fun experience.

"It's amazing to play for other people, I had a great time doing it and became, somehow, a little bit famous," he added.

The teenager also confirmed he made it to his school play for closing night and put on "the best performance of the week".

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.