Ilford dispensing optician Anil Gupta was one of the 7,500 people to play a part in the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.
Gupta (pictured) took to the stage in the industrial revolution segment of the ceremony, which depicted iconic parts of British history. 'I applied back in 2007 and was invited for an interview and audition shortly after. I was called back for a second audition and was then given the role,' said Gupta.
He added that over 1 million people applied for roles at the ceremony. Gupta is now ideally placed for any other industrial revolution acting roles, as he was allowed to keep his costume.