STANDING in front of 30 girls may seem like a dream for some, but on ITV’s Take Me Out it can quickly turn into a nightmare.

Whether this was the case for 30-year-old Jay Cochrane remains to be seen though, as he will feature on Saturday night’s instalment of the popular dating show.

And Jay, of Barford Drive, Lowton, is keeping quiet about whether he secured himself a date on the Isle of Fernando’s with one of the 30 lovely ladies.

He said: “It is terrifying. Coming down that lift and seeing 30 smiling faces was really trippy – the whole experience was. I was petrified I wouldn’t get a date but you’ll have to wait until Saturday to see if my fears came true.

“I was concentrating so much on not talking too quickly or moving my hands too much, it was hard to actually focus on the girls so it is things like the colour of a dress or the way someone has done their hair that just stands out and sticks.”

Jay has appeared on television previously as he works for Wigan Athletic as the academy’s under 9s manager, but he says Take Me Out is the first time the camera has been focused directly on him.

“They said I was one of the best contestants though and I want to say thank you to my theatre studies teacher at St Mary’s Andrea Atherton because although I never went into acting I carry most of my life lessons from her,” he said.

“It all happened by chance really, me and a friend were just having lunch and this woman came over and said she worked for TV. She asked if we wanted to apply for the show and we declined at first but then she kept asking so I eventually agreed.

“I work for a football academy in Leigh that offers kids professional football coaching and the boys got to feature on the video so that was a great boost for them.”

• Jay is residential director at the International Football Development Academy, which is currently offering six months’ free training to one child.

To enter the competition, visit www.soccerschooluk.co.uk and fill out the contact form with Take Me Out competition in the message box.