Tony Cowell chats to Jon Courtenay
This year’s triumphant BGT winner, Jon Courtenay, admits that winning the £250,000 prize will help his family survive – having racked up huge debts after his work on cruise ships dried up overnight, due to Covid-19. The 47-yearold comedy singer, who won this year’s show with an impressive 35.7 per cent of the public vote, opens up about how performing at The Royal Variety Show will be the highlight of his career, and how his wife, Emma, and two boys, Nathan and Alfie, inspired him to go on the show…
Congrats on your welldeserved win, Jon!
Thank you. It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind and it hasn’t quite sunk in yet! I’m still not sleeping much; I’m still so wired from the final.
I think it’s a shame Simon wasn’t there to see you win the series…
Yes, but I got to see him at my first audition, and he said some lovely things about me. The funny thing was, he gave my wife a hug backstage wearing his cashmere jumper – and the very next day, she went out and bought me the identical jumper. So thanks, Simon!
What would you say to him when you next speak?
Well, first of all, ‘Thank you!’ Because this show is his baby, and without this BGT platform, people like me wouldn’t get this opportunity to perform, let alone win the show.
What were your nerves like, before performing in the final?
I was lucky, because I got to watch the rehearsal for the musical theatre tribute with Michael Ball and the other big stars. I was so moved by it all, I was in tears. It was so emotional. Then I went on stage five minutes before I was to perform. That felt like an age. I just kept breathing and trying to remember my lyrics.
You are the first Golden Buzzer act to win the show. What did Ant and Dec say to you backstage afterwards?
We had a good chat after the show, and they seemed to be more excited than me. I didn’t realise I was the first Golden Buzzer act ever to win the show until they said that on stage! They are two of the nicest, most down-to-earth
guys you could ever wish to meet. They supported me, all the way.
And how did your proud sons, Alfie and Nathan, react to your win?
I said to my wife, Emma, before the show, ‘Can you set up a camera in our lounge?’ So she did. Nathan, my teenage son, burst into tears and then they both hugged – which is a rare occurrence, because normally they are fighting like cat and dog! My sister-in-law jumped up from the sofa so fast, she actually passed out and fell on the floor – which was the funniest part of the video.
What does your win mean to your mum? She must be terribly proud…
She’s not as steady on her legs as she used to be, so we popped in to see her as soon as we got home. I gave her a big hug and she was very emotional but, like me, I don’t think she can quite believe it yet. It’s a little bittersweet for her, because I know dad would have been over the moon to have witnessed this moment.
The prize money will help clear some debts, I imagine – you haven’t worked since March, right?
No. Because the cruise ship work was basically how I made a living, it vanished. Also, until my BGT audition aired, nobody in the UK knew who I was. If it wasn’t for BGT then right now I would be looking at having to get a job in Tesco or becoming a delivery driver for Amazon. This show has been a real lifeline for me.
What is the first thing you will buy with the money?
I had promised Nathan that if I won, I would buy him the Star Wars Millennium Falcon Lego set – which costs over £500 – so I will honour that promise. However, I realise I will have to buy Alfie something, too. My wife, Emma, and the boys have supported me all the way. Like a lot of parents at the moment,
I have been winging it – now, I have the chance to give them something back.
What does performing at The Royal Variety Show mean to you?
It means everything. It’s about my dad, too, because that was the show he would sit and watch with me. I still look on YouTube at all my favourite artists who have appeared on the show. So, I have really got to come up with something special.
Is it true you’ve already written the song you plan to perform?
Well… on the morning of the BGT final, I woke up in my hotel room at 6am with an idea for a song. I haven’t written it yet – I’ve just made some rough notes.
You’re taking your own show on tour next year, too. How does that feel?
Just amazing. The idea that people will pay the price of a ticket just to see me perform will be so weird and wonderful. I have never experienced that before. I can’t wait to walk out on to that stage.