A WEST End star in the making is worried his dreams of stardom may be scuppered by the sky high costs of studying at drama school.

Harry Pudwell was born and bred on the Blackbird Leys estate in Oxford and fell in love with acting while performing at the Oxford Playhouse and Headington Girls School as a teenager.

The 20-year-old is now hoping that businesses and people from the area will sponsor him to help break into a profession that he believes is increasingly becoming off-limits to people of working class backgrounds.

He said: "Naming no names but at one (theatre) school I had to pay £60 just to audition. I turned up, sung my song and that was it. I was in and out in two minutes.

"A lot of my friends have given up because they just can't afford it. It's so sad that there are so many talented people out there not getting the opportunities they deserve and it's usually because of the money."

The former Abingdon and Witney College student has secured a place to study at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts starting in two weeks time, but is facing fees of £13,850 per year alongside the high cost of living in London.

A government loan will only cover half the fees, leaving him searching for the difference in order to realise his long held dreams.

"I have enough to pay for the first term but after then who knows," he said.

"Mountview is known as one of the holy trinity of musical drama schools - one of the best in the country. Judi Dench is the president and recent graduates have gone straight into starring in West End shows.

"It means absolutely everything to me but I may have to pull out at any moment. If I can't do it I will be completely devastated."

In 2016, academics found that just 16 per cent of actors came from working class backgrounds and the British acting profession was 'heavily skewed towards the privileged'.

Oxford Playhouse chief executive Louise Chantal said the organisation looked to create plays and shows which communities in the city could relate to.

She added if people from different backgrounds and cultures did not see people like them performing on the stage, it would put them off from believing they could do it themselves.

The Playhouse offers paid internships, work experience and other programmes to children in Oxford state schools.

Ms Chantal said the theatre was working hard to make sure it was for 'everybody' in the city.

She added: "It's a national problem and the sort of thing the theatre is trying to address.

"It's about representation. We are very keen everything at the Playhouse does and has a resonance with people that come to see work here and participate."

My Pudwell, whose father is a bus driver and mother works at John Fisher School, said that this risks making the country's world-renowned drama less realistic.

He said: "People from my background have a lot of life experience that they can bring to acting roles. If you are quite privileged you do not get to see the nitty, gritty, dirtiness of the world. I can more easily fill the shoes of characters who have known the same things as I have."

His grandfather John Dillon is coordinating the fundraising drive.

The 69-year-old said: "I tried to convince him to be a plumber but he wasn't having any of it.

"He just loves everything about it. It's very deep in him. I'm sure he walks around with a play in his head at all times.

"The costs are unbelievable and we need any help we can get."

To donate search Harry Pudwell on justgiving.com