by Rachel Quigley

From very humble beginnings, Raven has grown into one of the longest-running game shows on children's television, winning a children's BAFTA for Best Entertainment Series in 2003 and 2006.

In its original incarnation, eighteen contestants gather to compete in the tournament. They face perils, they face challenges, they garner rich rewards.

Each week of the qualifying heats sees the competitors face various tests - of skill, strength, courage, intelligence, and guile - to see if they have what it takes to survive as warriors, with the hope of eventually finding the Ultimate Warrior of the series.

Now Simon Curran, 11, will have the chance to compete to be that Ultimate Warrior. Simon applied for the show after seeing it advertised on CBBC, thinking it was something that would be right up his street. His application was successful and he was soon called to attend auditions in Belfast.

Over 1500 people competed in the first heat, which was a basic question and answer session in front of a camera, to assess the competitor's suitability and performance on screen. The groups then had to play games to test the kids' social interaction, inventiveness and ingenuity.

Simon stormed through the first heats and was then quickly whisked off to Scotland for an intense weekend of gruelling physical challenges.

Over 2000 people from all over the UK took part in a test to separate the strong from the weak, the ultimate survival of the fittest.

The wannabe warriors took part in activities such as abseiling, gorge walking and rock climbing, however in order to really test their skills, the organisers added a twist to the challenges. Simon explained, "We had to do the rock climbing blind folded, it was very safe but a lot of people were afraid, it was a bit scary. Then we had to do the gorge walking at one in the morning without life jackets. A lot of people couldn't do it or gave up but it was my favourite part of the whole weekend, I loved it."

It was clearly this brave and courageous attitude that convinced the TV producers to pick him for the show, although Simon humbly reveals he thought he was just "very fortunate."

Although the tasks were primarily based on physical ability, it also tested mental stamina, due to the way they were treated by the organisers.

"They were very strict with us all the time, we weren't allowed to do anything wrong and the people who failed in the tasks didn't get any sympathy. You had to be tough."

Simon will now appear in 'Raven: The Secret Temple', which will be broadcast on BBC1 later this year. Filming for the show is thought to take place in India, over a period of six weeks throughout September and October.

Simon's mother, Attracta, is naturally worried about her son and is keen to accompany him to India.

"I'm so proud of him for getting through but it's a long time for someone so young to be away from home, I really want to go with him but the producers aren't keen as the children will be working six days a week for the show."

Simon is really excited at the prospect of the whole adventure, but is sad to leave his parents, two sisters and friends, who are all very impressed and excited for Simon.

"They all think it's really cool," he adds.

In the young boy's eyes, there seems to be only one let down about such an exciting opportunity:

"I thought I was getting a holiday from school, but they are sending tutors with us so they can teach us everything we will be missing."

"Let the challenge begin", is one of the popular catch phrases from the show, and this is will certainly be the ultimate challenge for Simon Curran.