Can Pre-Skool win Britain's Got Talent? Dance troupe fine tune their incredible routine ahead of weekend final

By SIMON CABLE

PUBLISHED: 15:58, 7 June 2013 | UPDATED: 18:45, 7 June 2013

The youngest members of the group are six and the oldest nine. 

Pre-Skool certainly have the cute factor and have already won over the notoriously scathing Simon Cowell.

Now they face the small task of charming 13million members of the British public.

Pulling out all the stops: Britain's Got Talent hopefuls Pre-Skool have been working hard to perfect their routine ahead of Saturday night's final

The 12-strong group, made up of children aged five to eight, have spent the past week fine-tuning their latest dance routine ahead of their appearance in the Britain’s Got Talent final on Saturday night.

The children, from Port Talbot in Wales, have managed to get the week off school as they prepare for their performance on the ITV talent show.

Up to 13million people are expected to tune in to watch the final, which will see the group competing against ten other acts to win a £250,000 prize and a place at this year’s Royal Variety Performance.

Busting a move: The group won over the judges with their cute appearances and their incredible dancing abilities

Talented: Chloe Birmingham does the famous Fame jump as the group rehearse for the final

Choreographer Terry Michael, who runs the TDM stage school where the group have been rehearsing, said the children had been frantically trying to learn their moves ahead of the final. ‘It is very hard work. But they all absolutely love it.

‘The good thing about Pre-Skool is they’re so young that they’re totally oblivious to what’s going on outside the dancing.

‘There’s no pressure at all. If anything, the adults feel more pressure. I think it’s an incredible experience to go in to the spotlight. I think it has such a positive effect. It’s hard work. It gives them discipline and builds up their self-confidence. It’s such a positive experience.

Cute as a button: The cute faux-mance between Tyler Kelly and Seren Evans is one of the core concepts of their routines

Will you marry me? It looks as though a proposal might be in store for the kids

‘The kids absolutely love Simon and he’s fantastic with them. I know he’s known as Mr Nasty, but he’s absolutely lovely with kids.

‘Obviously he’s an incredibly talented and successful businessman but he’s only human at the end of the day and he loves children. He’s really approachable. He’s given some really good advice.’

The group are made up of the younger siblings of Nu Sxool – another young dance group who appeared in the final of Britain’s Got Talent last year.

Pre-Skool consist of Elisha Thars and Cooper Jeffreys, both six, Seren Evans, Tyler Kelly, Megan Carsley and Rwbi Richards, all seven, eight-year-olds Jordan Andrews, Honey Bull, Daisy Jones, Chloe Birmingham, Megan Jenkins, and the eldest member of the group, Olivia Williams, nine.

Gangnam style! The troupe work their magic as they perfect their moves

Mr Nasty reformed! Simon Cowell was left delighted by the group's routine during one of the live semi-final shows

They were seen screaming in delight as they were voted through to the final by the public during last week’s semi-final, although earlier in the competition, one member of the group started to cry as she waited for the judges to decide whether they would go through to the next round. 

Responding to criticism some of the younger contestants can’t handle the pressure and disappointment of not progressing, Simon joked the children were actually middle-aged ‘midgets’.

He said: ‘These are all 45-year-old midgets. I love your personalities and your sense of fun. It was the best act of the night so far.’

Hoping for victory: The Britain's Got Talent finalists, minus Pre-Skool, appeared on Daybreak on Friday morning ahead of the final

When presenter Declan Donnelly asked how long they had spent perfecting their routine, one of the children responded: ‘A year!’ before changing her mind to a week.

Mr Michael added: ‘They just love dancing and they are really excited to be performing on live television again. They don’t get nervous.

‘We are really busy now getting the routine together in time, but the schools have been really supportive about it all.

Mr Michael said if they did manage to win the show, they know what they would do with the winnings.

‘It would be split up amongst the kids so they get some money. We would also look into getting a studio to call our own.’

Speed demons: Ant and Dec pose with a special Britain's Got Talent Mini Cooper 

Special arrival: Francine Lewis and Declan Donnelly pose with the car

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2337517/Britains-Got-Talent-2013-final-Can-Pre-Skool-win.html#ixzz2Vc5fgXk2
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Jim Shelley: Britain's Got Talent is part freak show and part fakery... but it still has ratings The Voice can only dream of

By JIM SHELLEY

PUBLISHED: 14:25, 27 April 2013 | UPDATED: 15:52, 27 April 2013

It should be another quiet night on Britain’s Got Talent.

After just two episodes of the new series, Simon Cowell’s extravaganza is once again the only reality show everyone is talking about, making headlines with gay abandon, and achieving ratings that its Saturday night rival The Voice can only dream of.

If anything, BGT has become MORE extreme, more surreal and unpredictable – a production (and that is what it is – like a piece of theatre) that is part panto, part vaudeville, and part modern-day three-ring circus.

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Great ratings: Simon Cowell has masterminded the success of Britain's Got Talent, with co-judges Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams

Cowell of course is the ring-master, working the audience, smooth-talking us into parting with more money.

Given some of the more bizarre, unhinged individuals who appear on it, Britain’s Got Talent has also been labelled a modern-day freak show.

But at least the Bearded Lady, conjoined twins, and Mexican Werewolf Boy were real - or at least I think they were. I’m not 100 per cent sure about the Mexican Werewolf Boy.

At least it didn’t later transpire that they were earning £25, 000 a year playing cruise ships.

Please don't hurt me! Anthony McPartlin looks nervous as he helps out magician Aaron Crow on Saturday's Britain's Got Talent

What is going on? Ant looks a bit baffled

After just two weeks, BGT has already been beset with controversies along these lines.

It turned out that the VERY talented, semi-naked trio, the CEO Dancers have toured with Rita Ora.

So our condolences to them.

Faking it: Dancing trio CEO made it through to the next round, but have already been on tour with Rita Ora

The appallingly-named Pop’arrazi Crew made the semi final of Holland’s Got Talent – a contest eventually won by Robin Van Persie, chipping a rugby ball into a paddling pool while standing on one leg and rapping Ice Ice Baby: 'Yo RVP/let’s kick it' et cetera.

Then of course there was what has now presumably become known as PaniniGate.

The Johnson Brothers (Richard and Adam) sang what I thought was a rather grating version of The Impossible Dream but were (inevitably on this show) instantly hailed as 'amazing' and 'genius' and accused of 'smashing it' by the judges - Cowell, David Walliams and the two women in this panto, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon who may not be Ugly but can certainly cackle like Cinderella's evil sisters.

Faking it: Sandwich shop workers Richard and Adam were instantly branded as The Panini Pavarottis, but they already released an album

The Johnson Brothers' emotive back-story was not that they suffered from any appalling illnesses or even that they had a Nan but that they worked in a sandwich shop – which didn’t seem THAT bad to me but there you go.

They were instantly branded as The Panini Pavarottis and you could see the euros (not to say the sandwiches) flashing in Simon Cowell’s eyes as he dreamed of turning them in to the next Paul Potts (only with fewer doughnuts).

Then the papers discovered that not only were the Johnson Brothers a regular feature on the cruise ship circuit, they had released an album produced by Gordon Lorenz.

Lorenz had compared them to his protégé Charlotte Church – the only difference being they were male, there were two of them, and they weren’t actually that talented.

Motor mouth: Impersonator Francine Lewis neglected to mention that she had also been on television as recently as last year

Impersonator Francine Lewis presented herself as a mother of two children, neglecting to mention that she had appeared on shows like Channel 4’s Very Important People only last year. Then again she didn’t mention that it also appears she can only do impressions of people from Essex. She also had to suffer the ignominy of being criticised by Katie Price for sounding inarticulate.

The outrage that all this fakery and obfuscation provoked among the public - on twitter, in the BGT chat-rooms and in the queues in Greggs - was understandable.

There's nothing honourable and amusing about tricking the public this way.

We watch Britain’s Got Talent expecting to find someone undiscovered; someone who has never sung before. We are looking for the WOW moments. It’s those that have us all glued to our screens – except when we are frantically tweeting about it of course.

What we we really want to see are the newcomers or amateurs finding the courage to perform for the first time.

And to be fair, BGT has already had at least two of these with comedian Jack Carroll and 11 year-old Arisxandra Libantino whose performance of One Night Stand was extraordinary, although it is true that when Jennifer Hudson sang 'come on big baby come on/one night only/we only have till dawn', the song probably meant something more suggestive.

As for the ‘scandals’, none of them will have caused Cowell to lose any sleep. As long as the show makes headlines, it is doing its job and he will, ultimately make millions.

Admittedly he would probably prefer a nice teenage singer rather than another Ashleigh & Pudsey. Then again, god knows what he might do with the racoon act that features in tonight’s show. 

Take it back to Hollywood ?

Of course the show knows all about the background of most the contestants.

Acts like the Panini Pavarottis are just the sacrifices to the BGT publicity machine that have to be made – like poor Chloe Mafia, the 19 year-old drug-addled prostitute hung out to dry after appearing on the X Factor in 2010.

A glimpse of truth: 14-year-old Jack Carroll from Yorkshire who has cerebral palsy appeared as a rather funny stand-up comic

We want to see newcomers or amateurs like Jack finding the courage to perform for the first time

One of the ads (for Rice Krispies’ Squares) that appears on the BGT website sums it up nicely.

'It’s all lies,' says the tag line. 'They’re not even square !'

It just goes to proves the rich can make money – even when they’re lying openly.

Whether tonight’s show will see more amazing acts like Jack and Arisxandra, more dull semi-professionals, or out and out freak show material is anyone’s guess.

All we do know is that one act is a sword-wielding illusionist who slices a pineapple balanced on Ant from Ant & Dec’s head while wearing a blindfold (the magician that is, not Ant. Or the pineapple.)

Mesmerizing: 11 year-old Arisxandra Libantino¿s performance of One Night Stand was extraordinary

Going strong: The mixture of emotions, both real and fake, has helped rake in the viewers

I know what you’re thinking. Which of us hasn’t tried it in the kitchen and, regrettably, sometimes failed ?

But it should make for great television.

'I love the idea of watching something where there is a possibility that someone could actually die,' Simon Cowell has said, probably while stroking a white cat sitting on his knee.

Did Alice Fredenham 'fake' stage fright during BGT auditions

Yes Simon. Why not just bring back Gladiators – except with real weapons instead of giant cotton buds ? Or have children fighting each other to the death on a Saturday night variation of The Hunger Games?

'The fact that it was Ant,' he added, 'only made it more exciting.'

Of course, if it had been Cowell himself, it would have been REALLY exciting (a MILLION per cent more exciting, a TRILLION per cent more fantastic). 

There would also have been the added bonus that the sword swishing narrowly across his head would have improved his haircut no end.

BGT researchers scouted me. Francine Lewis on being back in the...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2315707/Britains-Got-Talent-freak-fakery--ratings-The-Voice-dream-of.html#ixzz2RgXAJQOi
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Britain's Got Talent contestant Francine Lewis 'spent night of passion with Leonardo DiCaprio'

Star crossed lovers: Britain's Got Talent contestant Francine Lewis 'spent night of passion with Leonardo DiCaprio'

By JOHN JAMES

PUBLISHED: 12:36, 21 April 2013 | UPDATED: 13:30, 21 April 2013

She blew away the judges on Britain's Got Talent with her celebrity impersonations, but Francine Lewis is used to being around actual A-listers.

The dark haired beauty is said to have once spent a night with Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio.

Francine, who is now happily married with two children, reportedly met Leo in 1999 when she was a hostess for The Generation Game.

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Star crossed lovers: Britain's Got Talent star Francine Lewis spent a night with Leonardo DiCaprio back in 1999

After talking to each other in a London bar the pair are said to have headed back to the expensive Metropolitan Hotel where they became intimate.

According to The Sun newspaper Francine said she did not sleep with Leo and she was in a relationship at the time with property dealer Sacha Tropper.

Months before her meeting with DiCaprio, Francine was also linked to former EastEnders star Michael Greco.

The newspaper also reported that she spoke about her sexual appetite, boasting that no man can satisfy her.

She said: 'I'm a friendly girl and I can't say no to anyone! I like to make eye contact with a guy and if he gives me that little smile back I know I'm in there. But the truth is no single man can satisfy me.'

They're impressed: All four judges gave the mother-of-two a standing ovation after her performance

 VIDEO  Francine Lewis got a standing ovation from judges on show 

'I've organised the divorce lawyer' BGT contestant mocks Katie...

However, Francine said 'this is all old news' and won't let the past affect her future on the show.

Lewis wowed the judges and the crowd with her uncanny impressions of Stacey Solomon, Katie Price, Amy Childs and Holly Willoughby on Saturday night. 

The mother-of-two blew the judges away with her impersonation of Cheryl Cole and she even left Simon speechless.

As she pretended to be the Geordie singer Francine said: 'I'm excited to be here, even to see you Simon, me frenemy.'

Her performance left the judges so impressed they rewarded her with a standing ovation. 

Simon told her: 'That was incredible, brilliant choices of people.'

Stacey is that you? Francine began her performance by portraying former X Factor contestant Stacey Solomon 

Amanda was equally enthused and told Francine: 'I'm backing you all the way because it was amazing.'

David quipped: 'Amazing to be funny and beautiful, I thought it was just me.'

Alesha added: 'I love you whatever happens in this competition you are amazing at what you did.'

And even Stacey Solomon seemed to enjoy the performance too tweeting during the show, 'Haha love it well don't francine Lewis!!! #bgt,' which presumably meant to say 'well done'.

She looks the part: Francine pulled off a series of uncanny impressions

Can't stop laughing: Francine had Alesha and Simon, who was sporting a pair of Harry Potter glasses, in fits of giggles 

When it came to the vote, Francine was rewarded with a yes from every judge. 

Simon added: 'Those impressions were brilliant. I really do think we are looking at a future star.'

But the music mogul had already met Francine in the past, at a club where he was judging a Miss GB competition.

'Oh my god': Francine seemed thrilled to have gotten through to the next stage in the show

'He wasn't the big star he is now,' the impressionist told the Sun. 'He was an A&R man at Sony. When he remembered my face I was blown away.'

While Francine said that the talent contest was her 'last chance' it seems that she has already had considerable success and has appeared on a number of TV shows in the past.

The brunette has been seen on This Morning, Loose Women, The Big Breakfast as well as appearing in OK!, Maxim and and FHM magazines.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2312435/Britains-Got-Talent-contestant-Francine-Lewis-spent-night-passion-Leonardo-DiCaprio.html#ixzz2R6QC2GcU
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