A SINGLE father put himself through a grilling on children's TV.

Russell Bass, 35, of Meridian Park, Waltham Abbey, had to face daunting tasks to impress a potential date's children on the CBBC programme Project Parent, which is due to be aired next Tuesday (January 18).

In the show, a single mum is given a makeover by her children, who then choose a suitable date for her.

As well as facing 15 minutes of questioning, Mr Bass had to write a song, draw a picture of himself, stuff cupcakes into his mouth and play the trumpet.

“I liked my 15 minutes of fame,” he said. “I've always been interested in film and TV and it was great to see behind the scenes and see what was going on.”

Despite being put through the humiliating tasks, Mr Bass decided to go back to film a second programme for the series in December, when he had to cook pancakes with his date.

Although he did not find love on the show, he said it had not put him off dating.

“When women see me cooking, I think they might be put off,” he said. “We were under a time limit and once one bit went wrong, it all snowballed.”

He said his son Jake, seven, was looking forward to seeing the programme and possibly seeing his dad on the screen again in the future.

“I don't want to do it as a career, but it was a fun experience,” he added. “I would do something like this again.”

The first show will be aired on January 18 at 5.45pm on the CBBC channel, repeated on BBC Two on Saturday, January 22 at 8.30am.

The second episode will be screened in March.