"As a child I always liked music and I worked out how to put a record on the record player one day," Lewis says. "The one I picked up was a Paganini violin concerto. I fell in love with the sound and begged my mum to let me have lessons on the instrument making that sound.

"I remember when I first picked it up at school, I put the bow on the violin and expected to hear the same sound as the record."

Luckily for audiences it didn't deter him. By the time he was 12, Lewis was leader of the National Children's Orchestra of Great Britain. He has studied with some of the world's virtuoso violin teachers including Carl Pini, Igor Ozim and Wenxun Chen. At the Bern Conservatoire he studied with Richard Tognetti, who became artistic director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

After making his concerto debut in 1991 in Switzerland with the Bern Symphony Orchestra, he toured Europe, released CDs and made his UK concerto debut in 1999 as soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a professional musician he acquired an agent and in 2001, he joined the exciting troupe of dancers and musicians in Spirit of the Dance.

"An actress friend of mine saw an advertisement in the The Stage - a weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry - it said 'funky fiddler wanted'. I went along to the auditions for David King the creator and producer. I jumped up on the table, played a few notes, did a spin, and that was that." Needless to say he got the gig and has toured with the show on and off ever since.

In 2004, he recorded the title music to the film Ladies in Lavender. The composer of the score, Nigel Hess, later asked him to play on an album of the film's music.

But it was his appearance on the BBC One's Blue Peter show in 2010, which really brought him to prominence, when he became the Guinness Book of Record's World's Fastest Violinist playing Flight of the Bumblebee. When another violinist beat his record Lewis was determined to get it back. He appeared on the Ellen Degeneres show in 2011, and reclaimed the title in 46 seconds.

Lewis was asked to play the solo gypsy violin music for the Master of the House scene on the soundtrack to the 2012 hit film Les Miserables, an experience he says was fascinating. "[Producer] Cameron Mackintosh was there, and [director] Tom Hooper ... there was a lot of pressure to get it right."

He is on stage a few times in Spirit of the Dance and says every night is different and exciting. "There is a Celtic cowboy Irish line dance, full of high energy, and I do a couple of solo numbers including Flight of the Bumblebee.

"I love the joy of trying to get through to the audience. Part of our job is to give the audience some escapism, take them to a happy place. This is a great show for the family."