Local people were part of both the winning and runner-up acts in this year’s Britain’s Got Talent final, with a local farmer helping a choir to victory and Frome residents part of a drone team that finished second in the ITV show.
The Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir, which includes Rode farmer Andy Fussell, were crowned winners of the long-running talent show, while drone light show company Celestial, whose team includes Frome residents, finished as runners-up.
The choir is made up of 34 farmers from across the country and was formed by broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson. Their final performance featured the original song This is Home, written as a tribute to rural life and the pressures faced by those working in agriculture.
Andy Fussell, a third-generation farmer from Rode, said the result still felt unreal.
“It was just unbelievable to win,” he said. “The atmosphere in that room was amazing. When they were announcing, it was very tense and we were all grabbing each other.
“Ever since winning I have received messages from across the world from people who have seen the show.”
The group has been raising awareness of mental health in the farming community.
“We definitely do not want this to be a one-stop shop,” Andy added. “There are lots of long hours where you work on your own in a machine and if you have got other problems going on they all manifest themselves, so it is very important that we keep running. It was a risk to sing an original song, but the judges absolutely loved it.”
The choir’s win secures a £25,000 prize and a place at the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall later this year.
In the runner-up spot, Celestial impressed judges with a synchronised drone light show that told the story of Britain’s Got Talent through aerial images of past winners.
The company has performed at major events including London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations and was awarded the Group Golden Buzzer during the semi-final stages.
Director and head of production John Partridge said the team were proud of their achievement.
“We have always wanted to show that drones can be used on many different stages, from large public events to smaller local shows,” he said.
“We wanted to present drones as an art form and get that message out there.
“Being on Britain’s Got Talent has been a huge journey. This puts the company firmly on the map for representing drones in the UK.”
He added that the production process behind each show is often unseen by audiences.
“We are a group of people who you never really see at our shows. You don’t realise the time that is invested into it, the hundreds of hours that go into building these shows,” he said.
“For us as a company it proves that all that hard work does lead to incredible things and the general public got behind us massively, especially in Somerset and the local areas. There was a lot of pride in it being local.”
Britain’s Got Talent has been running for 19 years and airs on ITV.
