Panto dame wows judges on Britain’s Got Talent
THE GROUP GOT FOUR YESES
ON Saturday night, the Britain’s Got Talent judges were blown away by Dame Nation, a singing act comprised of eight pantomime dames.
They came out and produced their own rendition of Raining Men and had David Walliams grinning from ear to ear.
One member of the extravagantly dressed octet was none other than Paul Tate, a Barton lad who has since found success in London’s West End.
Paul started his dramatic career with yearly pantos at Baysgarth School before securing a professional role in Aladdin in 1984.
Despite being based in London, Paul returns to Barton regularly and runs a local community drama group, Friends At Barton.
Paul caught up with Hull Live after Dame Nation sang their way into the next round.
Speaking about the experience, Paul said: “It was absolutely fantastic. It was a very long day, but the team really looked after us.
“We were thrilled to have the judges on our side and so glad that the audience loved it. We’re still coming down from watching it!
“I haven’t been on the Palladium stage since about 1997 or 1998, so to return to it in the way we did was just amazing.”
Paul explained that their performance was actually filmed back in January, so Saturday night’s episode was a long time in the making.
He added: “We were originally meant to be auditioning in 2021, but then Covid happened and everything got pushed back.
“After seeing the performance again, it’s been well worth the wait.”
Since leaving Barton for London, Paul has found success both on stage and on screen.
He secured a number of TV roles in the 1980s, including Bergerac, as well as finding success in the West End with parts in the Mousetrap and An Inspector Calls.
Paul finished by saying: “I love coming back to Barton to see my mum and to direct shows with our community drama group, Friends At Barton.
“We’re hoping to get our production of Alice In Wonderland up and running again in the near future.”
■■You can watch Dame Nation’s Britain’s Got Talent performance by visiting, www.youtube.com/ watch?v=fv1nijtqlku