A TELEVISION producer who credits his time with Lowestoft's leading amateur theatre group with giving him the entertainment 'bug' has been awarded a prestigious Children's Bafta.

Rob Hyde, a former Denes High School pupil, was presented with the gong for best children's entertainment programme at a lavish ceremony in London on Sunday after creating the CBBC series Relic: Guardians of the Museum.

Mr Hyde, 34, lived in Lowestoft from the age of seven until he moved to London to study at the Italia Conti theatre school at 18.

Relic was up against Junior Masterchef, Escape from Scorpion Mountain and Undercover Dads in the entertainment category and Mr Hyde said he had convinced himself he would not win.

'It was a massive shock,' he said. 'You always keep hoping. But the award was given half an hour before the end. You start thinking you can work out who will win – by the time it got to me I was really ready to hear another programme's name being read out.'

Mr Hyde joined the Lowestoft Players at the age of 12 – four years before he should have been allowed – to become part of the chorus of Aladdin and remained with them until just before he left the town.

He said it was his time with the group, during which he played Chino in West Side Story and the Prince in Snow White, that put him on his current career path.

'I was really inspired, particularly by Shirley Hurren [director and choreographer], to pursue dancing and performing,' he said. 'I got the bug and decided that's what I wanted to do.

'The players was a huge deal for me, I have to say. It kept me focused and the love I had for performing came from there.'

Following theatre school, Mr Hyde did some television presenting before deciding to move behind the camera, working first as a runner before becoming a cameraman, director and now producer. But he said his time with the Players still influenced his work.

Mr Hyde's mother and sister Laura have now moved to Norwich, but his grandmother still lives in Lowestoft.

He said: 'Because my background was always theatre, I have a slightly different perspective. I think my imagination is unlimited because of that. It's definitely true that I take a more theatrical approach.'

That shines through in Relic: Guardian of the Museums which teaches youngsters about the history behind relics such as the Hoxne Hoard, the Roman treasure found in Suffolk.

Led by Agatha, an eccentric guide at the British Museum, the children learn the stories by completing challenges.

Mr Hyde, who has previously worked on Strictly Come Dancing, Fame Academy, and created the CBBC programme Trapped, said: 'I deliberately created her to be quite dark and twisted which is what I tend to do in my kids' shows. I think kids like the thrill of being scared.'

The Bafta judges called Relic 'an original programme with big ambition and a real determination to engage with its young audience'.

While working on Relic, Mr Hyde was joined by another former Lowestoft Players member, Helen Evans, who is now a professional actress living in London.

The 44-year-old, who was born in Lowestoft and left to study acting at the age of 28, played Cleopatra in the series and has worked with Mr Hyde before.

'He comes up with an idea and creates this entirely different world. I think that's why it's so successful,' she said. 'He's very inclusive and makes things really good fun.'