Cynon Valley

Dad and son wow judges

- JOSHUA KNAPMAN joshua.knapman@walesonlin­e.co.uk

A FATHER-AND-SON act impressed on Britain’s Got Talent, as they roped in a judge to receive a standing ovation. James and Dylan Piper brought Ashley Banjo on stage to with help their magic act.

A WELSH father-and-son act impressed on Saturday’s episode of Britain’s Got Talent, as they roped in a judge to receive a standing ovation.

James and Dylan Piper, a magic act from Aberdare, saw the judges on their feet after some lockdown magic captivated Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, David Walliams and guest judge Ashley Banjo.

James started the act by saying: “The relationsh­ip between a father and son is the purest form of magic.

“And tonight we’re hoping to create our most magical moment ever.”

Ashley Banjo was brought up on stage to help with the trick.

Dylan was “unable to be here tonight” so he joined his dad via a video call and appeared on screen.

The father and son performed an act that saw young Dylan guessing who was in the overturned photos, picked earlier at random by guest judge Ashley Banjo. When the final picture revealed Ashley with his son, the dance star was visibly shocked and impressed.

When the photos were rearranged to reveal Ashley’s son’s name, Micah, he was even more gobsmacked.

But that wasn’t the end of it. When Dylan then appeared from behind the large picture, Ashley stands up and exclaims: “No way!”

After the performanc­e, that was described by host Ant McPartlin as “absolutely spellbindi­ng” the judges had their say.

Alesha said: “The first time we met you, we fell in love with you, so I guess we did have high expectatio­ns today. You just blew me away because actually you surpassed my expectatio­ns. You delivered on so many levels. It was creative, it was different, you made it personal, you made it intimate and what makes this magic is that special relationsh­ip you’ve got.”

She added: “Yes the trick was exceptiona­l but you two, your relationsh­ip, that’s beautiful. “That was brilliant.” Amanda said the best thing about their act was the chemistry and sentiment between the pair.

She said “It makes it a lot more meaningful and it was just beautifull­y done so congratula­tions.”

Ashley said: “Honestly I didn’t expect that. I could’ve been out of my chair multiple times. That is what coming to this competitio­n to win looks like to me.”

He added: “That has set the bar for me for this competitio­n so far, so be really proud of yourselves.”

David joked: “And you’re related, yeah?”

He said: “It really was a special performanc­e. It was brilliant, very original and I think the public – well they were in love with you in the audition – but I think they’re going to love you even more because of that.”

Unfortunat­ely, the duo didn’t make it straight through to the final, as comedy act Steve Royale picked up all four of the judges’ votes. They now need to rely on the public vote.

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 ??  ?? Dylan and Jamie Piper on Britain’s Got Talent
Dylan and Jamie Piper on Britain’s Got Talent

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