Josh Benson, the promising York Stage Musicals performer, is to star in a film about the life and times of legendary comedy duo Morecambe and Wise.

In his first professional acting role, he will play young Ernie Wise in a show to be aired on BBC2 this Christmas, with Victoria Wood in the role of Eric’s mother, Sadie.

Josh’s star is definitely in the ascendancy: his performance as the tutu-wearing Michael in York Stage Musicals’ production of Billy Elliot at the Grand Opera House in June so impressed London producers that he was invited to audition for the role in the West End production.

The eagle eye of Rosemary Readman, mother of York Stage Musicals director Robert Readman, led to 12-year-old Josh playing Ernie. “She spotted an article in the Yorkshire Post asking for performers to audition for the young Eric and Ernie,” he says.

“Robert happened to be visiting his mum in Scarborough that day and rang my dad immediately to tell us all about the details. We couldn’t attend the Leeds auditions, but luckily I was given a slot for Manchester and a couple of weeks later I was offered the role of Ernie Wise.

“I was amazed to discover that it was the same casting team working with Victoria Wood who had seen me audition for the role of Michael in Billy Elliot, and though I’d been too old for Michael they thought I was perfect for Ernie.”

Josh played the Artful Dodger in Oliver! and Nathan Lukowski in The Fully Monty in earlier York Stage Musicals shows at the Grand Opera House, and this weekend he is taking part in YSM’s concert of Stephen Sondheim songs that pays homage to the composer in his 80th birthday year.

Josh will feature in numbers such as Extra! Extra! from Gypsy and Everybody Ought To Have A Maid from A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, under the musical direction of Michael Thompson.

Other performances in the Sondheim@80 Celebration Concert will include Alex Papachristou and Alexa Chaplin in The Best Thing That Has Ever Happened from Sondheim’s latest musical Roadshow; Ashley Stilborn singing Something’s Coming from West Side Story; Juliet Waters performing Losing My Mind from Follies; Richard Blackburn and Esme Suter’s duet, Being Alive, from Company; and Sandy Nicholson’s performance of Sondheim’s most famous song, Send In The Clowns from A Little Night Music.

A “very different take” on the stripper number Gotta Get A Gimmick from Gypsy is promised too at tomorrow’s 2.30pm and 7.30pm shows and Sunday’s 7.30pm performance at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York.

• Tickets for Sondheim@80 cost £10 to £13 on 01904 623568 or online at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk