A youth worker who ditched drink and drugs and left behind a life of crime more than a decade ago is set to appear on the hit Channel 4 show Hunted.

Nick Batchelor turned his life around 12 years ago following a troubled start to adult life.

The 51-year-old has been working at Switch Youth Café in Maidstone for the past three years and he will have a slice of fame tonight as the first episode of the new series of Hunted airs tonight.

Nick, who lives in Aylesford, appears alongside close friend Paul James as they look to escape capture from the authorities in a bid to win £100,000.

The duo, along with other pairs battling for the cash prize, are dropped off in Liverpool and become fugitives.

Nick said: "I saw the Hunted and thought I would give it a go.

"A hundred grand is a great motivator for anyone and I thought it would be a good opportunity to go on and show how I have turned my life around.

"We are just two really down to earth people from South London."

A past problem with alcohol and drugs saw Nick turn to theft and burglary but now he will be on the run from experienced detectives for a completely different reason.

He believes the new series of the Hunted will give him a chance to show it is possible for anybody to completely transform their life.

He said: "I think that it is going to be like nothing else before, a totally different experience. I think that we will make it to the end, we have not gone on to just take part. We fully believe that we can be there for 25 days, 100 percent. And if we don’t, it’s Paul’s fault.

"We have been against harder odds before. Hence that we are sitting here today

"I told Channel 4 about my history and the next thing I knew we were being filmed in April and May.

"I had applied to go on there on my own but they asked me to find someone else so I asked Paul and he said yes."

The news series begins at 9pm on Channel 4 tonight.