A Sidmouth singing teacher had the chance to win a share of £25,000 after taking part in a prime-time television game show - in which the contestants are hypnotised.

Alex Poulton, 36, will star in tonight’s episode of the new ITV1 programme You’re Back In The Room hosted by Phillip Schofield.

To win the top prize, five contestants must work together to complete seemingly simple tasks, but ahead of the game they have been hypnotised by Keith Barry.

Using ‘mind control’, each person is given a trigger which, when set off, could sabotage their ability to complete the challenge.

Opera singer Alex, who teaches one-to-one lessons at Sidmouth’s Unitarian Church and Mustard Seed Café, applied to the show in the hope he could use any prize money to achieve his dream of producing a musical.

Alex and his teammates’ tasks included having to decorate a cake, collecting baggage from an airport carousel, a movie quiz and having to pour pints and serve them to cast members from Coronation Street, before taking on the final game.

Contestants win a share of however much money they accumulate throughout the show.

Alex said: “The main reason I did it is because I have always wanted to go on a game show, so when this came up I applied.

“Also, I wrote a musical, but it costs a lot of money to put on, so I needed to raise the money.”

Although he lives in Portsmouth, Alex likes to travel to Sidmouth for his vocal practice and is also a member of Sidmouth Gospel Choir.

He added of his experience on the show: “It is difficult to describe. Sometimes you cannot remember being hypnotised until you were able to watch it afterwards, so they could capture your reaction.

“It is a bit like a dream, when you wake up you cannot remember all of it.

“You have no peripheral vision, you are only focused on the task, you do not even know the cameras are there.”

Residents can find out how Alex fared when You’re Back In The Room begins at 8.20pm on ITV1 tonight.