A five-year-old child genius who twice bounced back from meningitis as a baby is set to take centre stage on national TV show Little Big Shots tonight, Wednesday.
Mason Bennett, the son of Warrington businessman Craig Bennett was invited to appear on the show hosted by comedian Dawn French, after it was discovered he had become one of the youngest members of Mensa in the society’s history when he was a four-year-old last year.
Craig, who runs Local Carpets in Warrington and Leigh, is amazed how well his son has coped with the pressure of appearing on a primetime TV show.
Craig said: “His personality come out to show he is like any normal, funny five-year-old boy.
“Everything is fun for him and he just sucks in information. He can tell you about the solar system, the universe and the periodic table and lots of other information.
Mason has a real zest for life and is so clever he helps the grown ups in his life, including dad Craig, to improve their general knowledge.
He has an IQ of 150 overall with higher standards of excellence in maths and pattern recognition.
His development is made even more incredible due to the fact he suffered meningitis twice during the first seven months of his life and Craig believes this has impacted on the way his son can remember things.
“It is a well known fact that when the brain is damaged it can adapt to use other areas,” he said.
At the time doctors feared Mason would suffer brain damage but he showed a remarkable fighting spirit.
Craig added: “He was only six months old when he got meningitis the first time and to have a chance to beat that you have to be a fighter and to beat it twice shows what a great little fighter he is. I know I am biased but he is definitely special.”
Mason’s prime TV slot is in ITV at 8pm tonight.
Commenting on Mason’s appearance Dawn said: “I wanted to have the moment of meeting them for the first time on camera and I think that was the right decision as it is a new person for them to meet so they are either interested or not interested.
“It is completely cheerful. The kids come along and they have a chat with me on a sofa and we have a bit of a laugh and find out what they do.
“Sometimes they invite me to join in and the only intent is to entertain, have a laugh and enjoy watching what they do, and they get to enjoy performing.”
Craig and Mason are big supporters of the meningitis charity #meningitisnow.
For more details visit https://www.meningitisnow.org/
