Filming Lord of the Flies 'amazing but intense'

An eight-year-old boy says filming the new TV series of Lord of the Flies in Malaysia for three months was "amazing but very intense".

Freddie Lee-Grey, from Kent, made his professional debut as Percival in the BBC series, which aired at the start of February.

Freddie, who was six when filming took place, said it was "lovely" that the series had come out, but also "quite overwhelming and intense".

"I wouldn't suggest watching more than one episode in one day or then I think you might have to have severe therapy," he added.

Based on an original novel by William Golding, Lord of the Flies follows a group of schoolboys stranded on a tropical island after a deadly plane crash.

The actors, then aged between five and 12, spent several months away from home shooting the show.

More than 7,000 boys initially applied to an open casting call and the chosen group of 30 filmed on mountain tops and in the jungle, waterfalls and beaches on a remote island off Langkawi, which they travelled to by speedboat.

When not filming or being tutored, the boys spent their time swimming in the sea and their hotel pool; fishing, exploring local waterfalls, playing pool and even staging their own talent show.

Freddie said: "I don't think anytime I went outside I didn't see a monkey.

"It was really nice seeing the monkeys."

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