Britain’s got tears
Alesha itches for 7yrs more Troubled Ant gets emotional in BGT return I battle for breath... just like my brother
SO GLAM BGT’S winning line-up of judges could stay for years to come, reckons Alesha Dixon – as all four return for their seventh series together. The Mis-teeq star says her bond with Simon Cowell and fellow judges Amanda Holden and David Walliams is solid. She said: “We’re easygoing and look forward to seeing each other.” Alesha, 39, said even Simon and David get on better, adding: “I caught them in a dance, not something I expected to see.”
Ant was brought to tears on Britain’s Got Talent by performer Marc Spelmann, who said the “real magic” had been the birth of his daughter thanks to IVF.
Marc told how his wife Tessa had seven rounds of treatment to get pregnant – but was then diagnosed with breast cancer.
Ant, 42, was visibly upset, wiping his eyes. He told Marc: “You got me in tears, man.”
The presenter has talked previously of how he and wife Lisa Armstrong had struggled for a baby.
He once revealed: “Lisa and I would love to have kids. We’re trying. It’s tougher than you think when you get older.”
The couple are now estranged after Ant’s battles with drink and prescription drugs.
Ant was back on screen as BGT returned with its audition rounds, in a show recorded in January. When those finish at the end of May, pal Declan Donnelly will present the Escapologist Matt on last night’s show Ant wipes away tears and (left) Marc with Tessa and Isabella
week of live shows without him. The pair both pressed their golden buzzer to send Londoner Marc, 46, to the semi-finals. The magician, who revealed wife Tessa is now cancer-free, performed a trick in which their two-year-old daughter Isabella predicted choices made by the judges. Escapologist Matt Johnson, a gospel choir and a dance troupe set up by Diversity star Ashley Banjo also made it through. Troubled Ant is due in court tomorrow to face drink-driving charges. janine.yaqoob@trinitymirror.com ESCAPOLOGIST Matt Johnson has told how he performs his terrifying act to help him understand what his sick brother goes through.
BGT viewers saw him escape last night from a tank of water as the judges sat gripped with worry.
Matt, 44 – who got a Yes from all four – told how he started doing the act to understand the plight of his brother Jonathan, 36.
Jonathan has a disease called tuberous sclerosis, which causes him to have seizures – leaving him unable to breathe for long periods of time.
Yorkshire-born Matt, who now lives in Vancouver with his wife and two children, explained: “He has three or four in a row and goes into a coma. I’ve seen his lips go from pink to blue.
“I have to put myself in a position where I can’t get out until it’s over, I can’t escape – which is like my brother when he escapes the seizure.”