He's danced with the Spice Girls at Wembley and been a body double for Oscar winner Rami Malek, but ambitious 27-year-old Billy Sawyer wants more. The former Canterbury College student sat down with Lydia Chantler-Hicks to talk about his Hollywood dreams...

It's Christmas Day 1999, and seven-year-old Billy Sawyer is dancing around his living room.

Scroll down to watch Billy dancing to the Spice Girls 20 years ago, and with them this year

He's just unwrapped a CD by his favourite band - the Spice Girls - and in his pyjama bottoms he sashays and twirls in front of the Christmas tree to Say You'll Be There while his dad videos him on a camcorder.

Little does he know that 20 years later he will be performing with the world-famous girl group at Wembley Stadium, with his proud parents watching from an audience of 80,000 fans.

Billy moved to Whitstable from London with his mum and sister after his parents split when he was 16.

He studied at Canterbury College and Canterbury High School, and in his spare time worked shifts at the Hotel Continental to help fund his real passion: dancing.

Then and now: Billy dancing at home in 1999, then with the Spice Girls this year (in silver)

"I was just an ordinary kid from Whitstable," said Billy, now 27. "But I've always loved dancing. Particularly street dance, hip-hop - they call it commercial dancing - the kind you'd see on MTV.

"I had a passion - a vision of what I wanted to create for myself. But back then I didn't know if it would really happen for me.

"My mum, sister and I lived in Harbour Street, above a shop.

"It was a struggle, which is why I worked at the hotel.

"I saved my money and would take a train up to London for dance classes whenever I could. I also took A-level dance and did dance classes in Wincheap."

Billy's devotion eventually earned him a scholarship to study at Performers College in Essex, where he practised for 12 hours a day.

"I didn't mind the hours," he said. "I knew by then if I believed in myself, practised and made sacrifices I could make my dream of dancing for a living a reality."

His hard work paid off as soon as he graduated, when he began dancing with some of the world's biggest stars.

"My first job was dancing with Olly Murs on the X Factor," explained Billy. "I've done UK tours with Jess Glynne and Steps, and I danced for the Spice Girls on their UK reunion tour.

"My first two CDs as a kid were Steps and Spice Girls, so being able to tour with them both was incredible."

Billy has also been a backing dancer on Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor, and performed with The Greatest Showman star Hugh Jackman at the Brit Awards.

Last year, he got his first taste of Hollywood when he worked as a body double for Rami Malek, who played Freddie Mercury in the hit biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

"I get nervous before I walk on stage," he said. "Wembley was a huge crowd - and on live TV it can be nerve-wracking because if you make a mistake, that's it.

"But as soon as I'm performing, something else takes over. I feel alive.

"An artist can pick up a paintbrush and make art that brings people to tears or laughter. As dancers, we can do that through the bodies we're born with."

But Billy's journey is not over yet. His next aim is to move to Los Angeles by the end of this year.

"I want to live the dream in Hollywood, and do a world tour with someone like Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga or Jennifer Lopez," he said.

He is also to working to encourage children to pursue their creative dreams - giving classes at schools and dance groups across the district.

"Looking back at that footage of me dancing to the Spice Girls in the living room, I just think 'wow, that's when it must have started'," he said.

"I know for young kids, your dream feels really far removed from reality. I hope that if they see someone from their area, who has achieved that dream, it might encourage them.

"I'm particularly keen on getting more boys into dancing.

"My message is that literally anything you want to do - dancing, writing, swimming, business - if you believe you can, you can."

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