See Britain's Got Talent's Biggest Child Stars Now: With Boring Adult Jobs & Everything
Fittingly for a show hosted by former child stars Ant and Dec, Britain's Got Talent has introduced some talented youngsters over the years.
Children's acts have brought tears to the eyes of audiences and seen the little cherubs assured by judges that they have a huge future in the entertainment industry.
So, where are they now?
Connie Talbot
At the tender age of just 6, Connie Talbot was runner-up in the first series of BGT behind opera singer Paul Potts. With her sweet voice, bubbly personality and missing front teeth, Connie won the hearts of a nation and sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow in the final.
And the judges were right – she's still pursuing a career in music. Her first album was released a year after she appeared on the show and recently released her latest EP called Growing Pains. In between, she appeared on Britain's Got Talent: The Champions, singing her own song, Never Give Up on Us which was released the same day and got to number 8 on the UK iTunes chart.
George Sampson
George Sampson wowed the audiences with his street dancing routines in the 2008 series of BGT, eventually winning the show with his now classic dance to Singin' in the Rain. He also appeared on Britain's Got Talent: The Champions.
He's now an actor and has had several roles in TV shows including Waterloo Road and Emmerdale. He's also appeared in the West End as Dean Paxton in Everyone's Talking About Jamie.
Ronan Parke
Despite being the bookies' favourite going into the final of BGT in 2011, Ronan Parke ended up coming second to Jai McDowell.
Nonetheless, 12-year-old Ronan was signed to Simon Cowell's record label. However, his pop career never really took off – although his most recent release was in 2018 so he may not have given up all hope just yet.
He's also turned his hand to acting, landing a role in a stage performance of Aladdin currently believed to be working in a top London restaurant.
Lagi Andreas
As the younger member of the dance act Stavros Flatley, Michalakis 'Lagi' Andreas performed alongside his dad in BGT in 2009 and again in Britain's Got Talent: The Champions in 2019.
First appearing on the show aged 13, Lagi is now 27 and has a child of his own. He was married in 2022, in Cyprus where he now runs a barber shop that includes a Stavros Flatley museum in its toilet.
Hollie Steel
For all her talent, the abiding memory of Hollie Steel's time on BGT is the 10-year-old running off stage halfway through a rendition of Edelweiss in the 2009 semi-final. She plucked up the courage to give it another go and was sent through to the final where she ended up coming 6th.
Despite her nerves on the show, Hollie went on to create her own record label and is still singing to this day.
She's also appeared on stage. In 2011, she landed the part of Louisa von Trapp in the UK tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Sound of Music. And in 2018, she played Frenchy in Grease on a cruise ship.
In 2022, Steel hit the headlines when she claimed BGT song choices were fixed and the producers didn't want her to win.
Jack Carroll
Aged 14, comedian Jack Carroll was runner-up in BGT 2010 and has gone on to carve out a pretty successful career in comedy and acting. He performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 2019, was a series regular on Trollied and appeared in an episode of the popular daytime show, Father Brown.
He made his film debut in Eaten By Lions in 2019, and was another invited back for Britain's Got Talent: The Champions.
Aidan Davis
Aidan Davis appeared as a dancer in the third series of BGT in 2009, where he was unfortunate enough to compete with Diversity.
He made it to the final but, in a series that also saw Susan Boyle emerge as a talent, only came 5th.
Nonetheless, he danced alongside Ashley Banjo's crew when Diversitoys went on tour. He's still dancing and has also dipped his toe in musical waters with a self-produced RP that he released in 2015.
So, not all in 'boring' adult jobs – but maybe not all of them have quite gone on to the level of stardom they may have hoped for. But two former BGT child contestants landed major roles in Eastenders.
Charlie Wernham, who was a semi-finalist in 2008, played Aaron Monroe on 'The Square'. He also appeared as Robbie Roscoe in Hollyoaks. And Shaheen Jafargholi (whose rendition of Who's Loving You saw him invited to sing at Michal Jackson's funeral) went on to play Shakil Kazemi in the Walford-based soap.