Gregg Sulkin was picked from hundreds of hopefuls to play Alex Russo’s (Selena Gomez's) love interest in the third season of Wizards of Waverly Place, and who has since relocated to Hollywood, is best known for playing JJ in the UK version of As The Bell Rings.

As The Bell Rings is Disney Channel’s short from Italy (Quelli dell’Intervallo), which has been exported around the world and spawned stars such as Demi Lovato (US); BAFTA-nominated, Brad Kavanagh (UK); Jacopo Sarno (Italy); and Ismael García (Spain).

A hit with kids around the world, the series reached over 11-million individuals during July to September 2009 in Europe. The simple concept is a fixed camera, filming through the window at a school break time. Kids come and go, discussing today’s trials and tribulations. In Italy, QDI rapidly shot to the number one slot for kids and ran auditions for a chance to appear in the show.

Jonathan Boseley, VP, Programming and Production, Disney Channels UK and Ireland, comments: “At Disney we are committed to creating localised content to complement our global output and nurturing the next generation of young British stars. Gregg Sulkin stood out from the start and we are delighted that we are able to give him a global platform to demonstrate his talent in the new series of Wizards of Waverly Place.”

Gregg Sulkin adds: “I am a big fan of Wizards of Waverly Place and am excited about staring in the third season. I learnt a huge amount from my experience on Disney Channel UK’s As The Bell Rings and look forward to taking that to America.”