AN AVELEY boy has landed a role in the West End production of Oliver.

Tyler Parker, 12, will play a chorus member in Fagin’s gang in the musical, which is running at the Theatre Royal, in Drury Lane.

This will be the second time the youngster, a pupil at Coopers’ Company and Coborn School in Upminster, has trod the West End boards.

He has spent the past year playing the “tall boy” in Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace, and has been in the spotlight since he was two-and-a-half, starting off as a child model before moving on to singing and drama.

Mum Julie Parker said: “I’m really proud of him.

“Tyler said he wanted to get a part in Oliver after he finished Billy Elliot – he loves it.”

Rehearsals for Oliver start next month, and Tyler takes to the stage for the first time on March 29.

His stint in the show will come to an end in October.

Colin Putz, principal at Colin’s Performing Arts School in Romford, where Tyler studies on weekends, was full of praise for the youngster.

He said: “Tyler comes to the school here once a week, and works exceptionally hard.

“I think the future looks very bright for him.”