Has Britain really got talent?

I have to admit that this is the first year I have watched Britain’s Got Talent. And the reason I watched it is simply because, quite by chance, I happened to be watching the programme six weeks ago when Susan Boyle walked on to the stage and sang unbelieveably beautifully. I talked about it at my classes, I made my colleagues watch her on YouTube in the office and every time I watched her sing ‘I Have a Dream’ from Les Miserables, I cried.

I obviously wasn’t alone. That performance has been watched over 100 million times on You Tube. Our lives have been enhanced by Susan’s innocent but beautiful performance.

On Sunday, she had us all on the edge of our seats as we felt the weight of the world’s expectation upon her. She faultered on her second note and we learned later that she had had a cold last week. But her brave and powerful rendition of a difficult song won her a worthy place in Saturday’s final and Susan certainly has set this year’s standard at a very high level.

Whilst Susan’s performance has shocked the nation in a beautifully, positive way, there has been another more surprising side. I am amazed at the very overweight folk who are perfectly happy to flaunt their flab in front of around 14 million folk. But perhaps this is a good thing. Many folk are in denial as to their size and maybe we needed to see what being seriously overweight really looks like. So when Piers Morgan, having just watched a vastly stomached drag queen perform on Monday evening, said that he would be off to the gym the next day, I think he was speaking for a great number of the male population. Let’s hope it worked as a prompt for all of us to eat less and do more!

But let’s look on the positive side. There have been some brilliant dance acts – Diversity and Flawless to name just two who have reached the final, and MD Showgroup ,who are youth campaigners as well as dancers, but who, sadly for them, didn’t get through from last night’s show. But how fantastic to see young folk of today being creative, active, dancing, working as a team and being focussed on a goal. Everyone who has participated will have worked their socks off and, as with all challenges, you win some and you lose some but I really hope that all of these youth dance groups will carry on setting an example to the youth of today. Let’s hope the media will be creating some positive headlines in the press, promoting the fact that young people can have fun keeping fit and entertained without resorting to crime.

And the shock of last evening’s show was the fact that Stavros Flatley, a Greek-style Riverdance parody performed by a 41-year-old dad and his 12-year-old son were voted straight through to the final. I do not believe that they earned the viewers’ vote because of their dancing skills. But when ‘dad’, Demetrios Demetriou, publicly thanked his son for inviting him to dance with him and tearfully explained to the nation that their relationship had blossomed as a result, I think a little tear must have filled a lot of eyes across the land and I bet there were more male voters last night than ever. We should not underestimate the value of ‘doing things together’ as families, helping family members to bond and get to know each other better. That is exactly why we have launched Kids 2 which are health and fitness courses for parents and children. The emotional and practical results are priceless. If we don’t have a Kids 2 course running near you yet, you could contact your local Rosemary Conley franchisee (please enter your postode to find your nearest franchise) and register your interest.