Britain's Got Talent

[igloobabe]

We got an email yesterday saying that if we were unable to travel due to the weather we could change to a new day/time/venue. As we are supposed to be on the other side of London tomorrow at 9am with snow and freezing rain forecast tonight we decided to postpone it to next Friday and dh is taking her up to Birmingham instead.

[pollypickles]

We have postponed until Monday too. There is hardly any snow in London as been there today with DD. Think it may be a long wait tho if people just turning up for auditions who should have been seen on other days!! Be prepared!!

[oscar]

Had a 1pm slot today. No waiting outside thank goodness, but a huge wait in the holding area. We didn't get out until about 6.30pm. THere were loads of peolple there who weren't scheduled. DS had a good time and got filmed so he had a happy experience.

[pollypickles]

DD auditioned today and very happy as got asked to be filmed after her audition. We had to pretend that we were just arriving, poor DD had to carry the dog which is no mean feat even though he is a small Border Terrier! Had a really good day, was well organised and warm!

[igloobabe]

We are now booked for Sunday in Birmingham as dd's school not playing ball on her being absent on Friday.

[Nicola]

Michael McIntyre and David Hasselhoff will join Amanda Holden as judges on the new series of Britain's Got Talent.

X Factor supremo Simon Cowell will also return to the ITV1 show, hosted by Ant and Dec, as a judge during the live stage of the competition.

Michael said: "I'm a massive fan of Britain's Got Talent and am extremely excited to be a judge on the new series. I was so thrilled when Simon Cowell asked me that I immediately wanted to run in to Ant and Dec's arms to celebrate."

Elaine Bedell, ITV director of entertainment and comedy, said: "Michael has established himself as one of the biggest names in comedy and entertainment in this country and, as someone who made his big breakthrough on the Royal Variety Performance, he knows exactly the pressures facing the acts on Britain's Got Talent."

The comic has been accused of being bland and has come under fire from the likes of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, while others have praised his performances for their inoffensive "middle class" nature and lack of bad language.

Elaine also praised The Hoff, who she said had "been immersed in show business for many years".

The American singer and actor, who made his name as Michael Knight in Knight Rider before starring in Baywatch, has appeared as a judge on America's Got Talent.

Around 15 million viewers watched the final of this year's Britain's Got Talent which was won by gymnastic troupe Spelbound.

Michael has spent most of his career so far on the BBC, where his BBC1 Comedy Roadshow made him a Saturday night primetime star.

[oscar]

Saw the Hoff on Alan Carr this week talking about it. I was not impressed with him !!!!

[igloobabe]

We are now booked for Sunday in Birmingham as dd's school not playing ball on her being absent on Friday.

Another wasted trip I fear - 4 hour wait, and nobody my dh and dd saw got filmed (other than in the audition room) Totally random and imo unfair timings - the rules say you get 1 min 30 secs or a verse and chorus, my dd got 2 mins but the woman before her ( african dancing lady with wooden fruit) got 7 mins!

My dh said she sounded fantastic - she was singing 'Use Somebody' by Kings of leon (in Pixie Lott's style) and she has this gorgeous husky thing going on in her voice when she sings it - like Diana Vickers, but in tune! But unless you're a novelty act, an opera singer, or plain awful I don't think you get a chance - unless you know someone behind the scenes.

I'm feeling very down about it all right now. I couldn't try any harder to find things to give her experience, but with limited money we are running out of options. It's sooooooo frustrating.

[Genevieve]

I'm feeling very down about it all right now. I couldn't try any harder to find things to give her experience, but with limited money we are running out of options. It's sooooooo frustrating.

sorry to hear about all of that - you just never know with these shows how they all work.....We do our best for our dds and ds's and sometimes it can be soul-destroying, but you know how random BGT is...so don't be so hard on yourself igloobabe,.....other things always come up

[Irishdancer]

Dose dd have an agent? If not then would try and get her 1 then there will be more chance for her to get more experience most of the good ones do not charge only for Spotlight but when you start out if you do not have much money dont need to join Spotlight as a lot of auditions its the agent who suggests who goes to auditions then if dd dose get work you can pay for Spotlight out of that and also for traveling expences or look on mandy.com or talent circle to see if there is any thing in your area they are both fee. The trouble with shows likw X Factor and BGT they see 10,000 so the likely hood of most people geting further is very poor. Yr dd school is more likley to give her permision to have time of school for other projects other than these reality shows

[igloobabe]

Yes she does have an agent, but since joining spotlight which I scraped together the money for after starting up another toddler music class, she has had absolutely nothing at all, not even a casting. What a waste of £88! She's the wrong age - too old to play kids on stage - too young to play an adult, too mature a singing voice to play a child, too young to be taken seriously by most bands or cds. She's a great little actress and a talented singer who gets a big reaction whenever she performs. Just want a break before she has to start exams and all that jazz!

[oscar]

BGT is a lottery. DS number was nearly 50,000!!!! Have you considered a really good amateur musical theatre group for her. D S has had some fantastic experiences with his group, including a West End gala for Billy Elliot. Lots of his group have gone on to drama schools etc.

[igloobabe]

She is in a drama group but hey can't advertise their shows because they have 2 kids on the protection register, which though laudable, is a complete pain when trying to get bums on seats! They use a large private school's theatre. I can't afford the groups that use London theatres, I'm afraid, unless you know of any that charge less than £100 a month!

[STEFFYSMUM]

is there not any am dram groups round about where you are my dd as had lots of experience in this kind of thing they usually advertise in local papers or you could check online somehwhere most do shows once a year or maybe more.. im talking about the musical and am dram stuff that has usually adults and kids in the show.

[igloobabe]

There's an operatic society but that's not her style of singing really, or there's Watford Palace Theatre's Youth Theatre but they have a long waiting list and higher fees, Stagecoach, Top hat, Best TheatreArts, Theatretrain, all operate in Herts but again the fees are more than we can manage, plus you have to have the t shirt, the jazz shoes, the sweat pants etc - all at bumped up prices.
She also does West End Workshops most holidays - but only because after the first one, they offered her a free place because of her talent and commitment, and have done so again this time. I almost cried with joy when we got the email as I knew we couldn't really afford for her to go again!