AN OPTICIANS that briefly featured on Peter Kay’s Car Share has been nominated for a national award.

Justin Kellet Opticians in Horwich is vying to become Dispensing Optician of the Year at the Optician Awards 2017 — described as the Oscars of the industry.

The nomination caps off an eventful few years for “local boy” Justin Kellet, who set up the business in Winter Hey Lane three years ago.

Mr Kellet said: “I was absolutely elated when I heard about it. It’s like the Oscars for the opticians.

“It is a glittering affair with black ties, tuxedos and about 600 people. It’s a really big thing.

“It is really nice to get to the final five in this category and I think we have a hot chance of winning it.”

One of the highlights for the 45-year-old was the brief cameo his store had in episode six of Car Share’s first season, albeit briefly.

But the experience wasn’t all happy for Mr Kellet, as he had to put in a lot of work to cater for the producers' demands.

He said: “I had to go to a lot of trouble because the show was set in the summer and they were filming in winter.

“They had big lighting rigs to portray it being in the summer but I had a Christmas window display.

“So I had to completely redress the window and take everything down and put up sunglasses displays in the middle of winter to make it look like it was summer.

“But it was very exciting to see it on the show.”

Mr Kellet, who lives just off Chorley New Road, became a qualified optician in 1994 and worked for David H Myers in Southport before setting up in Horwich.

As part of his entry into the Optician Awards 2017, he describes the business’s dedication to “ensuring that every patient feels like they are the only one who exists in that moment”.

He said: “I think we have a chance because we do differentiate quite considerably.

“We put in a lot of time and care into what we do and make sure we treat each customer individually.”

The awards take place in Saturday, April 1 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.