I haven’t seen BGT final. I’m anxious. I don’t know why...
Axel Blake tells MARION McMULLEN he was ready to quit comedy before Britain’s Got Talent came along
Are you looking forward to touring the country with your stand-up show In Style after winning BGT?
It’s a dream come true. I cannot believe it. I’ve had low points. I stopped doing comedy for a few years and just gathered my thoughts and asked ‘Is this what I really want?’ I was trying to figure it all out.
Sometimes when you chase something you have to accept it is not going to happen and you should be OK with that and that’s what I thought about my dreams and my passion for comedy.
I thought ‘focus on my family’ because when you are performing you have to travel away from your family and it’s always evenings. Sometimes it is too far to travel back and you have to stay in hotels and that’s even more money and you miss out.
Whereas if I was at home I’d be with my family so I had to make the decision and call it quits. I focused on my family and years later BGT came along.
It has ignited everything. If it wasn’t for Britain’s Got Talent I wouldn’t have continued my comedy path career. So I really want to thank BGT.
Have your feet touched the ground since winning?
(Laughs) No, I’m still floating, still floating, but I haven’t watched the final back yet. I’m not scared. I’m just anxious to watch it back. I don’t know why. I’m just a bit like .... aargh.
It’s different when I’m on stage doing what I need to do, but watching that moment back, I don’t know, I’m not there yet.
What was it like auditioning for the show?
At first I was like no, no way, and then I thought about it and I thought I’m only saying no because I’m scared, fear, and I thought I’m not going to let that rule my life so I decided to go for it.
After I did the audition, I was so glad I did. It’s funny because it was actually delayed for a bit because of Covid. It was supposed to happen in 2020 but it got cancelled and then it was back this year.
Thank heavens I did it.
Was it a shock getting the golden buzzer from Simon Cowell?
It was all filmed in January and until the time it was broadcast I had to be dead quiet. I couldn’t tell anyone apart from close family and friends and even some of them I didn’t tell.
From January to April, when it aired, I was walking around thinking ‘Oh, gosh, I wonder what is going to change? People will know I’ve got the golden buzzer, oh, my goodness.’
Afterwards some of my friends and family members were like ‘You never told me! I was with you last week. Why didn’t you say?’
Yeah, that was amazing getting the golden buzzer. I went on thinking ‘let me just get four yeses and I’m good with that.’
I brought my brother and my son, who was 12 at the time, along and when I did my set and got the buzzer I was just
‘Whoa, really?’ I couldn’t believe it. That was a big shock to me but, like I said,
I couldn’t tell anyone.
What does your son think of you winning?
(Laughs) I’m an absolute hero. If I tell him to clean his room, he does. If I ask him to wash the dishes, he does. It wasn’t like that before.
Judges Simon Cowell and David Walliams have both called you a comedy star. Have their comments encouraged you?
Yeah, it’s given me like a super power. It’s made me believe that this is for me. I’ve found what I was born to do.
I had doubts, but after BGT I’ve got so much power and force behind me right now. I feel unstoppable and I really can’t wait to showcase my talent to the nation on tour.
Are you getting recognised a lot now?
(Laughs) I am. Thank heavens for face masks. I can wear a face mask and not feel like a weirdo. It’s normality for us. I can walk around and no-one recognises me and it’s good.
The few times I’ve forgotten my face mask I was like ‘Oh, my goodness.’ If one person stops you other people are looking and thinking ‘Who is that person?’
You’ve had Covid yourself. Has that made you aware of what is important in your life?
That really hit me hard. I’m one of those guys ‘I’ll be alright, I don’t need to go the doctors, it’s just a hole in my foot’ but Covid got me.
I got vaccinated and everything and I’m so glad I did. It has 100% made me not take life for granted and the importance of family and spending as much time and creating as many memories with family.
It really did open my eyes to what is important in life and I’m just really enjoying everything that is
happening now.