By ANN FOTHERINGHAM

IT IS quite something to be making your radio drama debut alongside the likes of Jason Donovan and Toby Jones.

It’s even more impressive when you are just seven years old.

Molly Mae McCusker, whose parents are world-renowned Glasgow folk musician John McCusker and celebrated Irish singer Heidi Talbot, isn’t at all fazed by the experience.

“I’m really excited,” she beams. “I got to hear the whole thing last week and it was really funny when I came on singing in a London accent and my mum and dad said – that’s you!”

Molly Mae features in the BBC Radio Two drama Alone On A Wide Wide Sea, based on award-winning author Michael Morpurgo’s child migration novel.

The four-part drama, the first ever adaptation of the book, will be broadcast during Jeremy Vine’s lunchtime show from Monday to Thursday next week (August 7 to 10).

Between 1869 and 1970 around 100,000 British children were sent overseas - without their parents - by leading British churches and charities to new lives in Australia and Canada.

Michael Morpurgo’s story, which was adapted for radio by Ian McMillan, is inspired by this sad part of history.

It tells of the adventures of two child migrants, Arthur and Marty, who are dispatched from London to a working farm in the Australian outback.

In the drama, Toby Jones plays the owner of the farm where the child migrants are put to work, and Jason Donovan portrays Arthur.

Michael Morpurgo explains: “The migrant crisis the world faces today is not new.

“After the Second World War, there were thousands of such children in this country in need of homes and in need of the security and love only a family can provide. Many of these children were sent away to the other side of the world, separated from all they knew, to Australia, and elsewhere, where it was thought they would be well looked after. Some were, but others found themselves living in abject misery and hardship, were exploited and abused, their lives blighted.”

Specially curated music from the drama was performed to great acclaim at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2017 at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

John, who has performed all over the world with the likes of Mark Knopfler and Paul Weller, explains: “I was involved in The Ballads of Child Migration project, which put music to stories about children forced to leave their homes, and that led to an album and then to this. It has been an incredible experience for me, as well as for Molly, and something very different to what I’d normally be doing as a musician.

“It’s a beautiful and powerful play. Heidi and I saw War Horse, Michael’s book which was adapted for the stage, and it blew us away.”

Born in Bellshill, John began playing whistle and fiddle as a child and joined the legendary folk outfit Battlefield Band aged 17.

He has shared stages with everyone from Paolo Nutini to Bob Dylan and is about to embark upon a tour taking in dates in Canada and around the UK. Heidi, who is from County Kildare, has just released her fifth album, and she will be touring in the autumn, including a date at St Andrew’s in the Square in Glasgow on October 14.

But for now, it is their daughter who is taking centre stage. For her role – she has to sing the song ‘London Bridge is Falling Down’ throughout the four parts – Molly Mae had to learn a Cockney accent.

“My mum taught me and I just kept practising and practising,” she explains.

“My mum and dad have friends from London who helped us with some words like ‘lady’ - I sounded REALLY Scottish when I sang them.”

She laughs: “Once in drama class I had to play a cowgirl and talk in an American accent - that was brilliant fun.”

Molly Mae is surprised when asked if she was nervous.

“No - I sang on my mum and dad's last records, and me and my little sister Jessica love jumping up and down in the studio when mum and dad are recording,” she says.

“It was funny hearing myself sound different - they made me sing it really slow one time and that was even funnier.

“I love singing, we sing in the house all the time. I love singing along to FunBox and my favourite songs just now are 'How Far I'll Go' from the movie Moana and 'The Shoop Shoop' Song by Cher.”

Molly Mae is no stranger to performing – she has been around musicians all her life, after all, as John explains.

“We’d never push her into anything, but she just loves music,” he says. “She is used to touring with us – Mark Knopfler once played her Wheels on the Bus backstage at a concert – and sitting around our kitchen table chatting to musicians, or even getting up on stage with us and others.

“She stood on stage with us at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival, in front of about three thousand people, while Graeme Coxon of Blur played guitar beside her.

“Eddi Reader once got her up on stage and I think Heidi and I were more nervous than she was. She is fearless, and I love that.

"It’s all very natural for her and it’s great to see a wee girl without a care in the world, just having a lovely time. It does your heart good.”

Molly Mae agrees. “I've sung with mum and dad on stage lots of times, and I sang a song with my mum on her record called I See The Moon,” she says, proudly. “I got to play my tambourine once which was my favourite part of the concert.”

She pauses, thinking carefully about the next question.

“Yes, I would like to be a singer when I grow up,” she nods eventually.

“I wanted to be a policewoman, but they have to work every day….”