Britain's Got Talent
The semi final. Going out on with a bang! - by Liam Collins
Before the Semi Final my legs were so nervous. It has been a long day of rehearsals and sitting around and we were ready to perform. We were so excited to give it our best shot and deep down we felt if we could get everything right we had a chance to go through. Richard was brilliant; I still crack up watching it myself. I’m very lucky to have a dance partner who can pick things up so fast. I worry more about missing moves but he just nails it first time. I will also take this opportunity to thank him for all his help in getting me into shape for the show. I had lost all of my shape months before after retiring from athletics and not even looking at a gym for 8 months but this gave us both something to work towards. I think it’s important to have a goal and having the goal of 15 million people seeing you is plenty of motivation I can tell you! To set the record straight as well, Richard has not had pectoral implants!! Ha ha! We had so many people asking this. I guess it is a compliment Rich!
We were really pleased with how the act went on the night. It was a shame the way they edited the end because in rehearsal when we saw the monitors, seeing 12 Simon Cowells’ on a wide shot with all moves in time looked great but they chose to zoom in and miss it. The other aspect was Peter Andre and Jordan fighting which again they edited out of the screen perhaps it was a little bad taste but we just wanted to show we could take a current event and make a satirical joke about it. We do not mean any offence to anyone we take off it is all lighthearted humour. Sometimes you wonder why but I guess they know best.
Simon Cowell buzzed at the Queen and Prince Charles which he also buzzed on in the heat. They edited the heat to show that he buzzed on the Village People masks but in actual truth he buzzed on the Royal faces who in my opinion are two of the funniest masks. He is looking for the knighthood though and the Royals do watch this so we should have anticipated this and tactfully removed them to avoid this.
The night before on ITV2 Amanda Holden had said in an interview were we just a one trick pony to which Simon replied. “these guys are a 5 billion trick pony, this act can just keep going.” I still do not understand why he would be so enthusiastic about the act and then 24 hours later when we prove we can up our game he simply gave no feedback other than stating that he loved the end. He did not comment on the rest of the show. Piers Morgan who loved it in the heat and then in the semi final started by saying. “It was absolutely brilliant…. But then at the end seeing 12 Simon Cowells I was in hell!” It was as if he was just making a joke and again did not comment on the act other than that it was brilliant. Amanda’s comments were all positive and she was very kind. I think if Piers had stopped after “It was Brilliant” and if Simon had said what he had said in the interview the night before it may have been enough.
Afterwards as soon as we left the stage I broke down into tears, I felt inside me that this was it after more than 2000 shows together and all the memories on the streets and all the bullshit we had pushed our bodies through over the years to churn out 15 shows per day and each show being 20 minutes not 1 min 20! It just was too emotional and Richard was the same. I told him I was so proud of him and that regardless of the verdict that was the best we could do tonight given the amount of time we had.
Standing on the steps waiting for the verdict. I said to Rich, this is it, 1 min 20 of dancing and biting cardboard masks but the next 30 seconds will change our lives for the next 40 years.
When our name was not called, the look of disappointment on Richard’s face was no doubt mirrored in my own. It is nearly 10 years since I first danced on the streets nervously to the same songs on the cobbles in London and the show with no professional help and not a single lesson has come a long way, we were both so sad that this was the end.
We had not danced for years before and the entire act for the semi was invented 3 days before. Many of the acts have danced for years together so we were up against it but I’m proud of what we did with limited resources. And to be beaten by Diversity and Susan Boyle who would later go on to take first and second made us both proud to have been in the same semi final as acts like that worthy of performing for the Queen.
Moments later Richard announced that we would now go back to the day jobs as we have commitments and hang up the masks and the act for good. Since then however we have decided to carry on and have been performing all around the world!
Thank you to all of those who have supported us, whether its messages or booking us for shows. We will continue to make the show as big as possible!
Watch the Semi Final Video Below
Watch the Audition Video Below.
