I told Simon he’d give me a record deal when I was 15
BGT Golden Buzzer keeps dream alive
EXCLUSIVE
BY
THE teacher given the Golden Buzzer on last night’s Britain’s Got Talent says she told Simon Cowell that he would give her a record deal when she was just 15.
Taryn Charles, who will now automatically go through to the show’s semi-final, grew up near the London office of Cowell’s record label, then called S Records.
She says she met him once before and told him of her dream – but Simon could not remember the moment.
Taryn, 39, says:
“From a young age,
I looked up to Simon.
“When I was growing up, he worked at a record label near our house. I met him when I was 15 and said to him, ‘You’re gonna give me a record deal one day’.”
But Taryn’s precocious courage was all but forgotten as she performed Aretha
Franklin’s (You Make
Me Feel Like) A Natural
Woman last night.
She admits: “I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything like that nervous before. I don’t remember the Golden Buzzer moment at all.
“I remember jumping up and down and suddenly screeching that I’d wet myself. I hadn’t really, but it was the only thing I could think of to say.
“I didn’t feel I sang my best, so the Golden Buzzer was very unexpected.”
Taryn, of Egham, Surrey – a singing tutor and music therapist for children with special needs – revealed that she has ADHD, which led to her being excluded from three schools.
But she says that it was in the school music room that she found solace when things became too much.
She says: “I felt nobody was hearing what I was trying to say, so it came out in this explosion of bad behaviour.
“If I did need to escape, I was always in the music room. I can be in the worst mood and I’ll sing and everything will just melt away.” Taryn says volunteering in an SEN school as a teenager inspired her current career. She adds: “I realise now I was probably drawn to special needs because I have ADHD, which was only recently diagnosed.” But she says no one could be more pleased with her BGT success than her students.
One was even in the audience to see judge Bruno Tonioli hit the Golden Buzzer.
Taryn says: “She is in a choir I work with. I wanted to show her and other students that if I can get here, they can.
“She actually wants to apply for the show when she’s ready, which is amazing.”
While Taryn hopes BGT will bring her singing success, she is equally passionate about helping children.
She adds: “Special needs is my passion. Next week we’re recording our next single – we do one every year with the children’s choir.
“If BGT can get the kids’ single exposure, it’s a win for everybody.”
been slammed as too little, too late – especially after a number of highprofile tragedies involving swords. They include the murder of Ronan Kanda, 16, with a ninja sword in Wolverhampton in 2022. It was bought online and collected from a post office by one of his schoolboy killers.
Welcoming Labour’s intervention, Ronan’s mother Pooja said the loopholes rendered “the whole legislation futile”. She said: “We urge the Government
to include swords and also bring forward the legislation. It’s heartbreaking to see another life lost.
EXPLANATION
“Unfortunately, that sword, as well as many other dangerous variations, are still available for purchase. Even after our petition got 10,000 signatures, the Government has yet to provide a reasonable explanation for why ninja swords were not included.
The perpetrator of my son’s murder had over 25 blades he bought online. It was easy then and unfortunately it is easy now. I will continue to advocate for the prohibition of swords.”
She was echoed by the Ben Kinsella Trust, set up after the 16-year-old was knifed to death in North London in 2008. Chief executive Patrick Green said: “While the ban on machetes and zombie knives is a positive step, the recent tragedy demonstrates a critical gap. Ninja and other plain bladed swords should be included. We cannot afford to wait until September for this legislation to take effect. The government must act with urgency.”
After Tuesday’s horror, we found thousands of similar katana blades for sale online and in shops, including one a few miles from where Daniel was killed in Hainault. The owner of the store, which we are not naming, said: “We do not sell any knife to under-18s and all customers are checked for physical and electronic age verifications. Customers cannot even place an order online unless their age gets verified.”
We found the same types of weapons for sale up and down the UK, including on popular internet marketplaces where age verification does not appear to be necessary. One samurai sword, listed for £115, was described as a “battle ready”. Another at £110 was found on a marketplace alongside dozens of similar listings.
Crimes involving blades rose 7% to 49,489 last year from 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics – an increase of 60% since 2016.
Marcus Arduini Monzo, 36, of Newham, East London, has been remanded in custody accused of murdering Daniel, plus two counts of attempted murder, two counts of causing GBH, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.