Little Big Top

Meet the amazing kids who live and work in the circus.

As Channel 5’s eye-opening three-part series Circus Kids reveals, a life in the circus is usually one you are born into.

This week’s first episode features two-year-old twins Esmeralda and Scarlett, whose family have been in the business for 16 generations, and 17-yearold ‘Circle of Death’ motorbike rider Peter, whose parents are circus owners.

All of which makes the story of Imogene Reynolds, who left home at 15 to join the circus, and appears in episode two, quite remarkable.

HIGH FLIER

‘Being in the circus is very special for me because I’m first generation,’ says Reynolds, who is a hoopist at Russells Circus. ‘It’s amazing how far some circus families go back.’