A Bradford man who only learned to dance at the age of 20 has returned to Yorkshire to play a leading role in a renowned national ballet.

Lee Smikle lived in Allerton and was a student at Bradford & Ilkley College until he realised dance was his passion.

Thanks to Gordon Wilson, of the Wilson Centre dance school in Shipley, Lee quickly realised he had the potential to be a professional dancer.

Now he's on tour with the renowned Matthew Bourne production of The Nutcracker which is at The Grand Theatre, Leeds, until Saturday.

Lee, now 30, said: "I don't know what Mr Wilson must have thought when a 20-year-old walked into his dance school and said he wanted to be a dancer.

"But he must have realised that I had some potential and he showed a lot of faith in me. It's nice to be able to come back to Yorkshire and show Mr Wilson what I've done."

Lee, who spent five years at stage school in London before going to America and Portugal to dance, is now in the middle of a five-month tour of the UK with the production.

Lee plays one of the orphans in the first act and the character Gobstopper and one of the cupids in the second half.

He has also performed in the video which accompanied Kylie Minogue's song Love at First Sight.

Lee said: "When I grew up in Bradford, lads didn't go into dancing. I was quite artistic and I studied an arts foundation course at Bradford College and later worked at the Alhambra Theatre backstage, in the box office and on the stage door.

"That was good because it exposed me to a lot of shows. It developed me and I ended up at the Wilson Centre and knew I wanted to be a dancer."

Gordon Wilson said: "It shows what you can do if you set your mind to it. He was a very late starter but he had great determination, and look where it's got him. It's terrific."

l For details of The Nutcracker, contact the Leeds Grand Theatre box office on 01132 226222.