Britain's Got Talent Photos (Patreon)

I finally got some photos back from Britain's Got Talent!

Some of you may be aware that I auditioned for BGT back in Feb, but didn't end up getting aired. They won't release video footage of the performance for copyright reasons but they did let me have some photos to remember it by.

I am proud of the routine I came up with, as well as the feedback from both audience and judges. The show itself was the scariest thing I've done, but also kind of surreal. It's a talent show, but it's definitely a Show first, and the talent comes second. Backstage it's all about getting the footage they need for TV.

Unlike how it sometimes looks when you watch it, the acts that make it in front of the judges are heavily curated, and have all already been through several rounds of selection. Apart from the judges themselves, and the audience, all the backstage and admin crew already know what to expect from each act, and I could sometimes see in their faces when they were talking to someone who had been set up to succeed vs someone set up to fail.

I don't think I was in either camp. While some people were being interviewed with a set story or angle in mind, mine were very open, and they seemed unsure how they wanted to present me. Whether or not this affected the decision not to air me, I don't know, but in hindsight it felt like I was there as a 'let's just see what happens with this guy' sort of thing, and clearly I didn't do anything shocking or embarrassing enough for TV.

I don't begrudge them it (much!), because that's the nature of the beast, but I was perhaps a bit naive going into it. Maybe if I did it again I'd need to come up with more shock factor...

But whatever the outcome, I did a cool thing, and here's some evidence! I didn't hold back on the pole moves, and there's some tricks I'm proud of there, so I'm glad I got the photos.

If you have any questions about the backstage experience, ask away!