A FORMER Salisbury teacher is hoping his invention will prove a hit when he appears on Channel 4's Buy It Now.

Matt Dyson, who taught at Bishop Wordsworth’s School, will be showcasing Rockit, a portable baby rocker that fits to any pram or pushchair, with the gadgets co-founders Nick Webb and Matt Sparrow.

The show involves pitching new products and inventions to a studio audience. And if the pitch is successful, the inventors get a chance to secure orders from major retailers.

Mr Dyson said: “We spent two years developing Rockit and it launched to critical acclaim in September last year.

“It’s been a whirlwind six months since the Rockit launch with sales into independent nursery retailers and major high street stores including Mothercare and John Lewis. Mums and dads have been raving about it."

Rockit and the team behind it have won numerous awards including a coveted Design Council Spark Award as well as three nursery industry gold awards.

The show, which is presented by Brian Conley, airs tonight (Monday) at 5.30pm.

“We can’t reveal whether we were successful or not with our pitch, but we can tell you we had great fun filming it. It was whilst at the TV studios, that we bumped into Hollywood star Tom Cruise, who was in London at the time filming the latest offering from the Mission Impossible franchise," adds Mr Dyson.

“We were so focused on the filming for the show that we didn’t recognise him. We walked straight past, despite him stopping us to comment on the spaceman costumes we were wearing as part of our pitch for the show” said Mr Dyson.

The team behind Rockit are building a sustainable business and have ambitious plans for expansion as he explains: “We are currently working on some really innovative follow-up products, all focusing on different child sleep issues. It is a really exciting phase for the business and we are raising investment via an equity crowdfunding campaign. This will enable us to fast-track our new product development and invest in the marketing of Rockit and future products in the UK and abroad."