New TV show, "Britain's Got Talent", has members of the British public performing on stage a varirty of weird and wonderful acts, who are also watched by three judges.
Acts include pop wannabe pop singers, opera singers, dancers, magicians, ventriloquists - you name it. Some of them are absolutely useless whereas others are genious. Comic moments on the show include moments when the acts go spectacularly wrong.
Now Piers Morgan, one of the show's judges and who is the former editor of The Mirror newspaper (was fired from the Daily Mirror on 14 May2004 after authorising the newspaper's publication of what transpired to be FAKED photographs of Iraqi prisoners being abused by British Army personnel) says that the show proves that there are still a lot of talented people about.
And, like many British shows (such as "Pop Idol" which became "American Idol" in the States amd "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"), it will soon be exported to America - coming soon is "America's Got Talent."
Yes, Britain IS a talented nation!
By PIERS MORGAN
17th June 2007
Daily Mail
Watch Connie Talbot, 6, sing Somewhere over the rainbow - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...ews.html?in_article_id=462481&in_page_id=1773
Just when it seems we lead the world only in binge-drinking, sporting humiliation and drug abuse, along come the determined, modest and cheerful eccentrics who prove that...yes Britain is a talented nation:
Let's be honest, it's not a great time to be British, is it?
After centuries of global dominance, the country that once ran a mighty Empire that covered the planet like a giant sasquatch footprint on a small snowy path has become a laughing stock.
Piers Morgan
We've gone from being the best at everything to the worst.
Whether it's teenage pregnancy, binge-drinking, drug abuse, illegal immigration, gambling, homelessness, foreign policy or sport -we lead the way in being utterly, embarrassingly useless at the moment.
It's got so bad that if you tell a foreigner you're from Britain, they either look horrified or just put their arm around you and say: "I'm so sorry..."
Part of the problem has, of course, been the increasingly farcical endgame to the Blair administration.
The spectacle of our discredited leader charging around the world trying desperately to find a legacy that doesn't involve the word "Iraq' is as demeaning as it is laughable.
You can shake hands with as many Mandelas as you like, Tony, but there is nothing you can do now to change the fact that you made the most appalling decision of any British Prime Minister in memory.
A greater man would have resigned on principle, not pumped flesh with men like Colonel Gaddafi and George Bush on a fraudulent valedictory fly-by. But I digress.
What got me thinking about the state of our country was being a judge on the ITV show Britain's Got Talent, which has run all week and has its big finale tonight.
Initially dismissed as "just another reality talent show", the series has attracted huge ratings and come to stand as a magnificent testament to the values that made Britain "Great" in the first place.
The premise was simple - anyone could enter, and they could perform any act.
It's the ultimate variety show, an all-singing, all-dancing, all-piano-playing-pig extravaganza that seems to have gripped the nation in a wave of patriotic fervour rarely seen outside of football World Cups, Royal Jubilees and Tim Henman's annual Wimbledon farce.
I cannot believe the number of friends who have admitted to me that they've cried over this show.
Many of them hard-nosed, cynical journalists who don't even shed a tear over tsunamis or 9/11s.
But, as one newspaper executive put it to me yesterday: "This show has reminded everyone what makes Britain tick.
"Just when we're all feeling increasingly depressed about where our country's going, here are all these very ordinary British people coming on stage and showing the kind of guts, humour, determination, modesty, eccentricity and talent that made us what we are."
And he's right.
I've learned so much about the British psyche from this show, particularly in relation to our Special Friends in America - where I also judge the US version.
Working in Los Angeles for the past two summers, I've been in a good position to assess how Britain is viewed abroad.
And the answer is that despite all Tony Blair's war-mongering efforts and our dismal record on social issues, our standing is still surprisingly good.
They think we're a bit weird, what with our tea-drinking, warm beer, football hooligans, and humour heavy on sarcasm and irony. But they like our straight-talking, our history, our accent and our charm.
They also accept, albeit through gritted teeth, that we are an unusually creative bunch, particularly given our lousy weather.
I am, as you may have gathered, no great fan of Tony Blair, or rather the Tony Blair who took us into the catastrophic war in Iraq to suck up to George Bush.
But take Iraq out of the equation - which I resolutely refuse to do - and you would probably have to conclude that he hasn't done too bad a job.
The economy's been extraordinarily stable. Public services are slowly improving, albeit very slowly in some areas.
We have peace in Northern Ireland, low inflation and interest rates, high employment, successful devolution and a minimum wage.
Yes, immigration's been badly handled, stealth taxes have been sneaky, violent crime has shot up and there's a stench of sleaze about Blair's Government that has been increasingly pungent. But we're not in bad shape. We just have a tendency to talk ourselves down.
It is worth remembering that this great nation of ours has produced more talent per head than most of the other countries of the world put together. Shakespeare, Faraday, Churchill, The Beatles, Lewis Hamilton... you name the discipline and I'll name you a Briton who has conquered the world.
But we've always had more than our share of glorious eccentrics too, usually excelling in the area of Great British Failure. Think Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards and his brave but utterly embarrassing plunges down ski slopes.
God, he was hopeless. But oh, how we loved his courage, his charm and his steely desire to prove everyone wrong and fly the flag for Britain.
I've seen so many Eddies on Britain's Got Talent. Men and women who must know in their hearts that they're not that good but who just want to "have a go".
They come on stage, trembling with nerves, and give it everything they've got. And even if they fail, their spirit is never dimmed. They're just happy to have been given the chance.
Americans never celebrate failure. It's an alien concept to them. Success is all and, once achieved, it guarantees reverence, admiration and respect.
Britain is different. We're a 'build 'em up, knock 'em down' kind of country. We don't mind people becoming successful, but we do rather like seeing their balloon pricked from time to time, too. And then we'll buy the poor victim a pint, and have a laugh with them.
I sat with Simon Cowell, creator of the show, last night and agreed that it had been a warmer, more enriching experience than we had predicted.
"The great thing about the British," he said, "is that they are not afraid to get up on stage and make a potential fool of themselves. And they are a genuinely bloody talented lot, too."
I loved the old woman and her non-singing dog for example, who - when I criticised her appalling act - gave me an equally robust verbal volley back, branding me "Piers Thingamijig", adding: "Typical man - he's lost the argument so he just wants to insult me."
As she was comforted by Ant and Dec backstage, she gave me another whack: "What does HE know about showbusiness anyway?'
Well, I know that a singing dog who doesn't actually sing isn't going to have an extended run in Las Vegas. But that's beside the point.
What I liked about her was her indomitable British spirit. She was annoyed that her dog didn't sing but it wasn't the end of the world. In fact it wasn't even the end of her day, judging by her reaction.
She'd come, given it her best shot, it hadn't worked out, but nobody died. She was defiant, and amused.
Some of the most emotional moments have come from the most unlikely sources. Take Paul Potts, the Carphone Warehouse manager who sings like Pavarotti's kid brother and is my favourite to win tonight.
When he arrived on stage in a dodgy suit, sporting even dodgier teeth, sweating and nervous, expectation was not high. But his voice has more emotion, passion and raw quality to it than many top-level opera singers I have heard.
He revealed how he had been mercilessly bullied at school because he was "different".
Now that "difference" has become his moment of glory, because without his uniquely unassuming, vulnerable yet determined, very British personality, he would have been just another singer.
So what have I learned about Britain while filming this show?
Well, we're a daft lot for starters. Only we could produce acts like that weird little man who puts clothes pegs on his head, or the imbecile who hammered nails up his nose.
Both genuinely believed they had talent and were convinced that Her Majesty would enjoy their act.
In America, most of the acts are competing for the money and the fame.
By contrast, in Britain, I'd say the vast majority take part because they want to perform in front of the Queen at the Royal Variety Show - which is part of the prize - not because they want to pocket the £100,000 winner's cheque.
It is easy to take our Monarchy for granted but I was touched by the respect so many of our auditionees held for Her Majesty.
This show has gone back to celebrating the Great British Eccentric. And as the world shrinks, it is a timely reminder that some things should never change.
Americans believe in their right to bear arms. Britons believe in their right to get on a stage and entertain. And to do so with a very British sense of humour and character.
So tonight, get out the bunting, pour a glass of warm bitter, get your friends and family round for a roast dinner, stick on Britain's Got Talent and toast the health of Great Britain and all the glorious oddballs, talents and fascinating inhabitants of this enduringly splendid nation of ours. I salute them all.
Damon, Diploma of Performing Arts (failed)
Singer, ventriloquist and comedian Damon Scott has been polishing his act ever since he was a child, entertaining guests in the bar of the hotel owned by his parents.
He nearly didn’t make tonight’s final after a performance on Thursday that failed to impress Simon Cowell, but the TV audience were won over.
The 27-year-old says he wants to prove himself after he failed his Diploma in Performing Arts, leaving college as the only student without a qualification. Undeterred, he has built up a career in clubs and seaside resorts.
His family is so proud that for the first time in 28 years they closed their hotel, the Park House in Salisbury, to watch him in the semi-finals and will be willing him on again tonight.
"I just want to be at the Royal Variety Performance which I’ve adored since I was a little boy," he says. "I’ll give it everything."
Six-year-old Six-year-old Connie Talbot from Sutton Coldfield, who also reached the finals, has been performing since she was two.
She first sang Somewhere Over The Rainbow in public aged just four, at her grandmother’s funeral, and two years on, it was her tear-jerking rendition of that same song that won her a place in the hearts of Britain’s Got Talent viewers.
But mum Sharon says Connie has barely noticed her popularity and spends more time thinking about her idol Leona Lewis, winner of X-Factor. ‘If she wins, I know Connie will feel just like Leona, but she has been so blasé, winning hasn’t entered her head. In fact, it was Dominic Smith, the singer, who she wanted to win and she was in tears when he didn’t make it through.
‘This show has been unbelievable, words cannot express it. It’s a huge shock she’s in this position, when all she wanted to do was sing and get a good comment from Simon.
‘Winning the money is not something we have even thought about but to perform in front of the Queen is something you could only dream of.’
Bessie Curzons entered the contest only because her mum thought she needed a bit of practice – and fully expected her to fail the audition.
But the 11-year-old’s song and dance act impressed the judges from the first, and on Friday she went through to the final on the public vote.
She wowed viewers and the panel with the song Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, a performance that saw her flying on to the stage in full Mary Poppins costume, including umbrella.
Afterwards, Piers Morgan said: "If I had to bet who would become a star I would put all my money on you."
Although Bessie, from Portsmouth, started taking dance lessons at the age of just two, her mother admitted she never realised the full extent of her talent.
"She wanted to perform so I thought it would be good practice for her to go to auditions and be turned down," says Sarah Cursons.
"We never thought she would ever get this far. I didn’t realise she had something special."
For Bessie, the most exciting part of the show was meeting Simon Cowell, a favourite of hers since his Pop Idol days. "He’s not nasty at all, he’s been really nice to me," she says.
Bullied and in debt – the Welsh "Pavapotti"
Paul Potts (what a name!), a mobile phone salesman from Port Talbot, astonished viewers with his incredible rendition of Nessun Dorma and is now one of the favourites to win tonight.
Victory would help the 36-year-old launch a full-time singing career – and the £100,000 prize would help pay off the debts he has built up in pursuit of his dream.
Even if he won he would be left with two mortgages on the family house.
Paul, who is married to insurance company supervisor Julie-Ann, spent two years in Italy, improving his operatic skills, culminating in a masterclass with Pavarotti.
But eventually he ran out of cash and had to return to Bristol where he got a job shelf-stacking in the same branch of Tesco where his mother Yvonne worked. He later joined Carphone Warehouse.
As a schoolboy chorister he always knew he had a fine voice but was crippled by a lack of confidence.
"I was bullied physically and emotionally and either lost my temper or hid away with my music," he says.
Scott Holtom (above) , who made it as far as the semi-final, was astonished to find himself in the competition at all. His mother Audrey sent in an entry form without telling her 21-year-old son.
"I’m pretty shy, so the competition has already changed my life – I’m getting recognised," says street-dancer Scott, who works in a jewellery shop in Solihull.
"I can’t be shy any more. It’s given me confidence, so in a way I’ve already won. This is why my mum put me forward.
"The prize money is cool but money is fleeting. Dancing in front of the Queen is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that money cannot buy."
Leeroy Bailey, 26-year-old founder of Kombat Breakers, was amazed to find his street-dance troupe make the final ahead of baton-twirling rival Craig Womersley.
‘Craig had a lot of publicity so when the judges had to choose we didn’t know which way it would go,’ he said. ‘When Simon called our name we all had tears in our eyes.’ Leeroy, who has been dancing since he was nine, added: ‘To win would be mind-blowing.’
The BarWizards are flamboyant cocktail mixers Neil Garner, 20, and Neil Lowrey, 26, from London, who met when they started competing individually at competitions for so-called ‘bar flaring’.
Last year they came second at the World Championships in Las Vegas, but are missing this year’s contest to be in Britain’s Got Talent – and have made it to the final.
‘To win would open up more opportunities for what we do, letting us take this a step forward,’ they said. ‘To have an original act like ours win the competition against all the other amazing acts would be incredible and performing in front of the Queen would be a moment we’d never forget. ’
dailymail.co.uk
Acts include pop wannabe pop singers, opera singers, dancers, magicians, ventriloquists - you name it. Some of them are absolutely useless whereas others are genious. Comic moments on the show include moments when the acts go spectacularly wrong.
Now Piers Morgan, one of the show's judges and who is the former editor of The Mirror newspaper (was fired from the Daily Mirror on 14 May2004 after authorising the newspaper's publication of what transpired to be FAKED photographs of Iraqi prisoners being abused by British Army personnel) says that the show proves that there are still a lot of talented people about.
And, like many British shows (such as "Pop Idol" which became "American Idol" in the States amd "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"), it will soon be exported to America - coming soon is "America's Got Talent."
Yes, Britain IS a talented nation!
By PIERS MORGAN
17th June 2007
Daily Mail
Watch Connie Talbot, 6, sing Somewhere over the rainbow - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...ews.html?in_article_id=462481&in_page_id=1773
Just when it seems we lead the world only in binge-drinking, sporting humiliation and drug abuse, along come the determined, modest and cheerful eccentrics who prove that...yes Britain is a talented nation:
Let's be honest, it's not a great time to be British, is it?
After centuries of global dominance, the country that once ran a mighty Empire that covered the planet like a giant sasquatch footprint on a small snowy path has become a laughing stock.
Piers Morgan
We've gone from being the best at everything to the worst.
Whether it's teenage pregnancy, binge-drinking, drug abuse, illegal immigration, gambling, homelessness, foreign policy or sport -we lead the way in being utterly, embarrassingly useless at the moment.
It's got so bad that if you tell a foreigner you're from Britain, they either look horrified or just put their arm around you and say: "I'm so sorry..."
Part of the problem has, of course, been the increasingly farcical endgame to the Blair administration.
The spectacle of our discredited leader charging around the world trying desperately to find a legacy that doesn't involve the word "Iraq' is as demeaning as it is laughable.
You can shake hands with as many Mandelas as you like, Tony, but there is nothing you can do now to change the fact that you made the most appalling decision of any British Prime Minister in memory.
A greater man would have resigned on principle, not pumped flesh with men like Colonel Gaddafi and George Bush on a fraudulent valedictory fly-by. But I digress.
What got me thinking about the state of our country was being a judge on the ITV show Britain's Got Talent, which has run all week and has its big finale tonight.
Initially dismissed as "just another reality talent show", the series has attracted huge ratings and come to stand as a magnificent testament to the values that made Britain "Great" in the first place.
The premise was simple - anyone could enter, and they could perform any act.
It's the ultimate variety show, an all-singing, all-dancing, all-piano-playing-pig extravaganza that seems to have gripped the nation in a wave of patriotic fervour rarely seen outside of football World Cups, Royal Jubilees and Tim Henman's annual Wimbledon farce.
I cannot believe the number of friends who have admitted to me that they've cried over this show.
Many of them hard-nosed, cynical journalists who don't even shed a tear over tsunamis or 9/11s.
But, as one newspaper executive put it to me yesterday: "This show has reminded everyone what makes Britain tick.
"Just when we're all feeling increasingly depressed about where our country's going, here are all these very ordinary British people coming on stage and showing the kind of guts, humour, determination, modesty, eccentricity and talent that made us what we are."
And he's right.
I've learned so much about the British psyche from this show, particularly in relation to our Special Friends in America - where I also judge the US version.
Working in Los Angeles for the past two summers, I've been in a good position to assess how Britain is viewed abroad.
And the answer is that despite all Tony Blair's war-mongering efforts and our dismal record on social issues, our standing is still surprisingly good.
They think we're a bit weird, what with our tea-drinking, warm beer, football hooligans, and humour heavy on sarcasm and irony. But they like our straight-talking, our history, our accent and our charm.
They also accept, albeit through gritted teeth, that we are an unusually creative bunch, particularly given our lousy weather.
I am, as you may have gathered, no great fan of Tony Blair, or rather the Tony Blair who took us into the catastrophic war in Iraq to suck up to George Bush.
But take Iraq out of the equation - which I resolutely refuse to do - and you would probably have to conclude that he hasn't done too bad a job.
The economy's been extraordinarily stable. Public services are slowly improving, albeit very slowly in some areas.
We have peace in Northern Ireland, low inflation and interest rates, high employment, successful devolution and a minimum wage.
Yes, immigration's been badly handled, stealth taxes have been sneaky, violent crime has shot up and there's a stench of sleaze about Blair's Government that has been increasingly pungent. But we're not in bad shape. We just have a tendency to talk ourselves down.
It is worth remembering that this great nation of ours has produced more talent per head than most of the other countries of the world put together. Shakespeare, Faraday, Churchill, The Beatles, Lewis Hamilton... you name the discipline and I'll name you a Briton who has conquered the world.
But we've always had more than our share of glorious eccentrics too, usually excelling in the area of Great British Failure. Think Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards and his brave but utterly embarrassing plunges down ski slopes.
God, he was hopeless. But oh, how we loved his courage, his charm and his steely desire to prove everyone wrong and fly the flag for Britain.
I've seen so many Eddies on Britain's Got Talent. Men and women who must know in their hearts that they're not that good but who just want to "have a go".
They come on stage, trembling with nerves, and give it everything they've got. And even if they fail, their spirit is never dimmed. They're just happy to have been given the chance.
Americans never celebrate failure. It's an alien concept to them. Success is all and, once achieved, it guarantees reverence, admiration and respect.
Britain is different. We're a 'build 'em up, knock 'em down' kind of country. We don't mind people becoming successful, but we do rather like seeing their balloon pricked from time to time, too. And then we'll buy the poor victim a pint, and have a laugh with them.
I sat with Simon Cowell, creator of the show, last night and agreed that it had been a warmer, more enriching experience than we had predicted.
"The great thing about the British," he said, "is that they are not afraid to get up on stage and make a potential fool of themselves. And they are a genuinely bloody talented lot, too."
I loved the old woman and her non-singing dog for example, who - when I criticised her appalling act - gave me an equally robust verbal volley back, branding me "Piers Thingamijig", adding: "Typical man - he's lost the argument so he just wants to insult me."
As she was comforted by Ant and Dec backstage, she gave me another whack: "What does HE know about showbusiness anyway?'
Well, I know that a singing dog who doesn't actually sing isn't going to have an extended run in Las Vegas. But that's beside the point.
What I liked about her was her indomitable British spirit. She was annoyed that her dog didn't sing but it wasn't the end of the world. In fact it wasn't even the end of her day, judging by her reaction.
She'd come, given it her best shot, it hadn't worked out, but nobody died. She was defiant, and amused.
Some of the most emotional moments have come from the most unlikely sources. Take Paul Potts, the Carphone Warehouse manager who sings like Pavarotti's kid brother and is my favourite to win tonight.
When he arrived on stage in a dodgy suit, sporting even dodgier teeth, sweating and nervous, expectation was not high. But his voice has more emotion, passion and raw quality to it than many top-level opera singers I have heard.
He revealed how he had been mercilessly bullied at school because he was "different".
Now that "difference" has become his moment of glory, because without his uniquely unassuming, vulnerable yet determined, very British personality, he would have been just another singer.
So what have I learned about Britain while filming this show?
Well, we're a daft lot for starters. Only we could produce acts like that weird little man who puts clothes pegs on his head, or the imbecile who hammered nails up his nose.
Both genuinely believed they had talent and were convinced that Her Majesty would enjoy their act.
In America, most of the acts are competing for the money and the fame.
By contrast, in Britain, I'd say the vast majority take part because they want to perform in front of the Queen at the Royal Variety Show - which is part of the prize - not because they want to pocket the £100,000 winner's cheque.
It is easy to take our Monarchy for granted but I was touched by the respect so many of our auditionees held for Her Majesty.
This show has gone back to celebrating the Great British Eccentric. And as the world shrinks, it is a timely reminder that some things should never change.
Americans believe in their right to bear arms. Britons believe in their right to get on a stage and entertain. And to do so with a very British sense of humour and character.
So tonight, get out the bunting, pour a glass of warm bitter, get your friends and family round for a roast dinner, stick on Britain's Got Talent and toast the health of Great Britain and all the glorious oddballs, talents and fascinating inhabitants of this enduringly splendid nation of ours. I salute them all.
Damon, Diploma of Performing Arts (failed)
Singer, ventriloquist and comedian Damon Scott has been polishing his act ever since he was a child, entertaining guests in the bar of the hotel owned by his parents.
He nearly didn’t make tonight’s final after a performance on Thursday that failed to impress Simon Cowell, but the TV audience were won over.
The 27-year-old says he wants to prove himself after he failed his Diploma in Performing Arts, leaving college as the only student without a qualification. Undeterred, he has built up a career in clubs and seaside resorts.
His family is so proud that for the first time in 28 years they closed their hotel, the Park House in Salisbury, to watch him in the semi-finals and will be willing him on again tonight.
"I just want to be at the Royal Variety Performance which I’ve adored since I was a little boy," he says. "I’ll give it everything."
Six-year-old Six-year-old Connie Talbot from Sutton Coldfield, who also reached the finals, has been performing since she was two.
She first sang Somewhere Over The Rainbow in public aged just four, at her grandmother’s funeral, and two years on, it was her tear-jerking rendition of that same song that won her a place in the hearts of Britain’s Got Talent viewers.
But mum Sharon says Connie has barely noticed her popularity and spends more time thinking about her idol Leona Lewis, winner of X-Factor. ‘If she wins, I know Connie will feel just like Leona, but she has been so blasé, winning hasn’t entered her head. In fact, it was Dominic Smith, the singer, who she wanted to win and she was in tears when he didn’t make it through.
‘This show has been unbelievable, words cannot express it. It’s a huge shock she’s in this position, when all she wanted to do was sing and get a good comment from Simon.
‘Winning the money is not something we have even thought about but to perform in front of the Queen is something you could only dream of.’
Bessie Curzons entered the contest only because her mum thought she needed a bit of practice – and fully expected her to fail the audition.
But the 11-year-old’s song and dance act impressed the judges from the first, and on Friday she went through to the final on the public vote.
She wowed viewers and the panel with the song Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, a performance that saw her flying on to the stage in full Mary Poppins costume, including umbrella.
Afterwards, Piers Morgan said: "If I had to bet who would become a star I would put all my money on you."
Although Bessie, from Portsmouth, started taking dance lessons at the age of just two, her mother admitted she never realised the full extent of her talent.
"She wanted to perform so I thought it would be good practice for her to go to auditions and be turned down," says Sarah Cursons.
"We never thought she would ever get this far. I didn’t realise she had something special."
For Bessie, the most exciting part of the show was meeting Simon Cowell, a favourite of hers since his Pop Idol days. "He’s not nasty at all, he’s been really nice to me," she says.
Bullied and in debt – the Welsh "Pavapotti"
Paul Potts (what a name!), a mobile phone salesman from Port Talbot, astonished viewers with his incredible rendition of Nessun Dorma and is now one of the favourites to win tonight.
Victory would help the 36-year-old launch a full-time singing career – and the £100,000 prize would help pay off the debts he has built up in pursuit of his dream.
Even if he won he would be left with two mortgages on the family house.
Paul, who is married to insurance company supervisor Julie-Ann, spent two years in Italy, improving his operatic skills, culminating in a masterclass with Pavarotti.
But eventually he ran out of cash and had to return to Bristol where he got a job shelf-stacking in the same branch of Tesco where his mother Yvonne worked. He later joined Carphone Warehouse.
As a schoolboy chorister he always knew he had a fine voice but was crippled by a lack of confidence.
"I was bullied physically and emotionally and either lost my temper or hid away with my music," he says.
Scott Holtom (above) , who made it as far as the semi-final, was astonished to find himself in the competition at all. His mother Audrey sent in an entry form without telling her 21-year-old son.
"I’m pretty shy, so the competition has already changed my life – I’m getting recognised," says street-dancer Scott, who works in a jewellery shop in Solihull.
"I can’t be shy any more. It’s given me confidence, so in a way I’ve already won. This is why my mum put me forward.
"The prize money is cool but money is fleeting. Dancing in front of the Queen is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that money cannot buy."
Leeroy Bailey, 26-year-old founder of Kombat Breakers, was amazed to find his street-dance troupe make the final ahead of baton-twirling rival Craig Womersley.
‘Craig had a lot of publicity so when the judges had to choose we didn’t know which way it would go,’ he said. ‘When Simon called our name we all had tears in our eyes.’ Leeroy, who has been dancing since he was nine, added: ‘To win would be mind-blowing.’
The BarWizards are flamboyant cocktail mixers Neil Garner, 20, and Neil Lowrey, 26, from London, who met when they started competing individually at competitions for so-called ‘bar flaring’.
Last year they came second at the World Championships in Las Vegas, but are missing this year’s contest to be in Britain’s Got Talent – and have made it to the final.
‘To win would open up more opportunities for what we do, letting us take this a step forward,’ they said. ‘To have an original act like ours win the competition against all the other amazing acts would be incredible and performing in front of the Queen would be a moment we’d never forget. ’
dailymail.co.uk
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