This weekend many of Britain’s Got Talent hopefuls will be performing for their chance to make it big. Competitors from across the country compete to impress judges Bruno Tonioli, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell enough to land a place at the Royal Variety Performance and win a £250,000 prize.
A handful of talented artists have achieved fame and fortune through BGT, including Susan Boyle, George Sampson and Ashleigh and Pudsey. Others have sadly faced tragedies, including murder, suicide and road deaths. A look back at the biggest heartbreaks of the series and the candidates who are no longer with us.
Jack Saunders
Jack was a member of the five-piece dance troupe Green Force Five, who reached the semi-finals in 2019 before bowing out of the show due to his untimely death. The talented contestant committed suicide at the age of 25 in March. Jack had been a successful dancer before BGT, performing at the London Olympics aged just 18 and reaching the Got to Dance final with Unity UK.
“I want people to know that this can happen to any family,” said Jack’s heartbroken mum Sandra, from Uxbridge, west London. “There is no stereotype – it doesn’t have to be a manic depressive who has shown signs of mental health problems. Jack was a kind soul. He worried about everyone, always focused on others to make sure they were okay. He was the shoulder you cried on.
Norma Clarke
Norma was the famous grandmother rapper from BGT who took the stage in 2007 wearing a hoodie and baseball cap. The Birmingham contestant performed the self-penned song Sam The Rapper, wowing judges Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden and ultimately winning over Simon Cowell, qualifying for boot camp.
In August 2019, the great-grandmother died in hospital after a long illness, aged 81. His daughter Amanda said: “She was such a character and many people rememberrecruited her for her appearance as a rapper on Britain’s Got Talent. She entered as she wanted to win the £100,000 prize to fund a new community center for young people on her estate. »
Simone Kerr
Simonne was part of the NHS B Positive choir, a 60-strong group of NHS Blood and Transplant staff, donors and patients who reached the BGT final in 2018 with their moving performances. She worked as a hematology and oncology nurse at Guys and St Thomas Hospital in south London and in 2015 lost her son Kavele at the age of six to sickle cell anemia.
Simonne, 32, was stabbed to death in August 2018 by her casual partner Desmond Sylva. He slit her throat and stabbed her more than 70 times and, in July 2019, was jailed for life for her murder at the Old Bailey. The nurse’s colleagues paid tearful tribute to their friend, calling her “one in a million”. “She was so funny, so smart and so strong.”
Paula Moulton
Paula appeared on the show in 2012 as part of dance troupe Strictly Wheels, performing with her friend Gary Lyness. She had contracted MRSA in the hospital with pneumonia which caused damage to her pelvis, lower spine, femur and hips. The talented duo reached the semi-finals with their version of Alicia Keys’ Empire State of Mind and in 2016 they competed for Para Dance Sport Team GB. Strictly Wheels became a charity in the same year, aiming to raise the profile of wheelchair dancing in the UK.
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Last June, the Manchester dancer died suddenly in hospital at the age of 52. “Paula always focused on the positive things in life, her disability was never an obstacle,” Gary said in tribute to his dance partner. “She should be remembered for all the positivity she brought to the many lives she touched. His passing will leave a huge void in my personal and dance lives and in the lives of so many others in the wheelchair dance community.”
David Watson
Magician David from Altrincham, Greater Manchester, has appeared on the show 12 times. His first appearance was in 2008, where he did impressions of politicians Tony Blair, William Hague and David Blunkett and, although it didn’t go well, he bounced back in 2010 with a performance of the Incredible Hulk deemed “horrible” by judge Amanda Holden.
David has become an integral part of BGT auditions, trying out every year since 2013 and saying: “I love being on the show”. In 2020, he even made it to the second round with his “magic rainbow” number, which the judges called his best yet. The retired NHS worker was found dead at his home in December 2021 after his worried family contacted the police when they were unable to reach him. His death was not considered suspicious. “He was always up for a laugh and a good sport,” Amanda said. “We will miss him.”
Henri Room
Henry was one half of singing duo The Pensionalities, reaching the BGT final in 2015 with his friend Malcolm Sykes. The friends, who grew up just miles apart in the north Doncaster villages, delighted viewers with their versions of Frank Sinatra classics including You Make Me Feel So Young, and were compared to the show hosts Ant and Dec by head judge Simon Cowell.
Henry died at his home on April 28, 2017, aged 86. His obituary said: “In life and death, Henry definitely did it “his way!” He died peacefully at home, as he wished, with his family. He lived an extraordinary life and was known to many as H from Cusworth’s Motorcycles and latterly one half of the boarders on Britain’s Got Talent. He was loved by many, forgotten. per person and will be greatly missed by all. »
Robert Anker
Dance group Diversity took BGT by storm in 2009 and group member Robert “Rob” Anker appeared on So You Think You Can Dance? and Strictly Come Dancing. The talented entertainer, who has worked with Jessie J and Paloma Faith and appeared in Thriller Live in the West End, left his native Essex for a new life in Canada with his wife Cyndi when tragedy struck.
Less than a year later, in July 2017, Rob, 27, was killed in a road accident in Ontario when his car collided with a pickup truck. The show dedicated this Friday night’s performance to him, saying the dancer “had incredible talent, a great personality and was very popular among many.”
Watch Britain’s Got Talent tonight, 7.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX
