A Ramsbottom pianist who performed at one of the UK’s most prestigious venues has described how a reality TV competition helped him rediscover a love of music.

Daniel Wilsher, 26, had not performed in public for 10 years before he appeared on The Piano, a Channel 4 programme presented by Claudia Winkleman which sought to showcase the UK’s best amateur pianists.

Daniel, who now lives in Manchester, was one of four exceptionally talented finalists chosen by singer-songwriter Mika and pianist Lang Lang to perform at the Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank.

Having been an avid musician growing up, Daniel studied music technology at Bury College and began a “dream” degree at Leeds College of Music before struggles with mental health forced him to drop out and step back from music. 

He now runs his own business giving talks about mental health, but says the time he spent away from the piano meant he doubted if he was good enough to appear on the show.

READ MORE: Prestwich Carnival organisers say event's 'future is in doubt'

He said: “I was just going on to push my comfort zone. In my day job as a mental health speaker, I’m always telling people to push their comfort zone and to live as their authentic self.

“It had been a while since I dropped out of music school at 20-years old, some five years ago, but I thought ‘you know what, I’m going to do it, I’m just going to see where it goes'.”

Daniel was asked to perform for the cameras for the first time at Birmingham New Street Station and was then chosen along with three other performers, Lucy, Sean and Jay to perform at the Festival Hall.

He performed an original song, Learn to Live, about "hope, and using the piano to create change in people’s lives".

Daniel added: “I didn’t really consider myself a musician, I’d not written music before Learn to Live in years so to go from not performing then to performing at the Royal Festival Hall in front of however many millions on Channel 4, it was scary but I managed to pull through.”

READ MORE: Whitefield pub voted best in Bury South for 2nd year

“Writing Learn to Live, that was the first time I had wrote a song in four or five years and I sat down at the Piano and it came out from start to end, chords, structure, lyrics within 30 minutes.”

Daniel says he felt more nervous for the Birmingham performance than he did for the Royal Festival Hall, which broadcast on March 15, as he felt he was still “finding his feet again” as a musician.

“It helped me reconnect with who I was when I was younger, it helped me find a new love for music, I’ve had so many new experiences that the music is also different a lot better be fair!”

“I’ve played the piano that they gave me every single day.”

“I’m writing more music than I’ve ever wrote before, I’m enjoying it again, I’m feeling more confident with not just the playing but with my voice as well.

READ MORE: Film crews spotted in Burrs Country Park for new ITV series

He now hopes to incorporate his music, especially Learn to Live, into his mental health speaking.

He has also launched 100 Talks for Change - 100 talks in 20 days across 50 schools with the aim of raising £10,000 for charity.

“Just because you’ve been through difficulty, and if you are battling with your mental health it doesn’t mean you’re not capable of achieving things," he said.