Britain's Brightest stardom for James Molloy - Hull student who can solve Rubik's Cube in 8 seconds

HE CAN solve a Rubik's Cube in less than eight seconds.

And his extraordinary skill has seen him head-hunted to take part in a BBC1 programme to find Britain's Brightest mind.

James Molloy, 19, a University of Hull student, will pit his wits against others from around the country in front of an audience of millions tomorrow tonight.

The chemistry student will be the second from East Yorkshire to take part in Britain's Brightest, hosted by Clare Balding.

Clair Collins, a maths teacher from Bridlington won her show three weeks ago, taking every point available to her.

She will now compete in the final.

James is a first-year undergraduate student at the Cottingham Road university.

He will go up against five others

He said: "I didn't actually apply to take part in the show – the researchers contacted me.

"They got my name because I organise Rubik's cube competitions in the UK.

"They got in touch with me and a few of us travelled to London, Manchester and Birmingham for an interview."

He was tested in a wide range of skills, including logic, spelling, memory, maths and intuition and was eventually selected to take part.

James said: "I have never done anything like this before and I was really, really looking forward to it.

"It was something I have never done before and it was really surreal.

"They gave me my own dressing room and stuff and it was fun and completely out of the ordinary."

James says he found the tasks challenging and was against strong opposition.

He also had to give quick-fire answers with more than eight cameras pointing on him at any one time.

"It was weird," he said. "I was aware of them.

"At first, I was nervous but then I settled in and it was much better."

James's speed at solving the Rubik's cube is what won him a place on the show.

He only started "cubing" two years ago.

"The fastest time I can solve a Rubik's cube is 7.9 seconds, but I can also solve them blind-folded in under two minutes.

"I started when I was supposed to be revising for my A-levels. I found my dad's Rubik's cube and asked if I could borrow it.

"I learned how to solve it and they were quite popular at the time and I had to solve them faster than my friends."

James found a website which helped him become quicker, and also began meeting up with two "speed cubers" in Surrey, where he grew up.

His passion now takes him to competitions all around the world, as well as offering the chance to compete to become Britain's Brightest.

He said: "Competing on the show has been a really great experience.

"My fellow contestants were amazing and I was also really impressed with how hard the people behind the scenes worked."

He will be competing in a tournament in Edinburgh at the weekend and will watch it there.

He says his university friends will be watching his appearance at home.

On the show, ordinary people with extraordinary minds face a series of nail-biting challenges and demanding puzzles as they battle to become crowned as Britain's Brightest and win the £50,000 prize.

When he's not showing off his skills on national television, he can be found in the university's chemistry labs.

He said: "I came to the University of Hull because the chemistry department has a great reputation and the actual course really stood out for me.

"The university has lived up to and surpassed my expectations."

James will appear in the fourth of the six episodes which will be screened tonight.

Every week, six new contestants compete against each other.