Six of the best

It’s a big night for the six acts remaining in the competition, as this is the last of the live challenge shows and next week is the grand finale. To go out at this point would be crushing, but sadly only four acts will remain in the competition after tonight. So, to get a sense of what the atmosphere is like backstage at this point, Inside TV called up presenter Jordan Banjo for the inside scoop…

“You have to work twice as hard, because there’s twice the chance that you’re going to go home, with two acts leaving,” points out Jordan. “Everyone is keeping everything very close to their chests – the other dance captains don’t know each other’s challenges, they don’t know each other’s routines. Even I haven’t seen much – I hope to catch some of the dress rehearsal so I don’t look so shocked on the actual night!”

Having won Britain’s Got Talent back in 2009 as part of Diversity, naturally Jordan has a good idea of the anxiety the contestants are experiencing during the live shows.

“I don’t have to imagine –

I’ve been in a similar situation myself, and I know how hard it is,” he shares. “But for these guys, it pushes that boundary further because it’s all dance – it’s not a variety show, it’s dedicated to something that they do. The dance captains are watching them and are all trained. They all know what they’re looking at – one foot out of place could cost them their spot.”

There were even some shocks during the audition stage of the competition, when some clearly talented acts didn’t earn enough votes from the studio audience to progress through to the next stage – and while Jordan was disappointed, he understands why this happened.

“It’s down to the audience for a reason,” he muses. “At the end of the day, no matter how much of a platform you give these guys, eventually once they come off the show, it’s the general public they’ve got to connect with and impress – so if they can’t do it in the very first audition, you’re not going to do it afterwards when there’s no show supporting you.”

We tried to tease some spoilers for tonight out of Jordan – but to no avail…

“I’m kept in the dark about quite a few things,” he chuckles. “Probably because I like to talk!”