Meet Crewe teenager in BGT semi-final after smashing Bruno's golden buzzer

Teenager Oliver Edwards is set to appear in the semi-final of Britain's Got Talent after a 'golden buzzer' performance. And the 16-year-old, accompanied by his Phoenix Boys dance troupe, impressed judge Bruno Tonioli so much that he broke the golden buzzer by hitting him, sending the boys straight to the semi-finals next week.

Oliver, from Wistaston, Crewe, has been dancing since he was three. The Sandbach School pupil and her fellow dancers moved judge Bruno to tears during the audition at the London Palladium.

The talented teenager, who trains at Aspire Dance and Theater Academy in Crewe and LS Gymnastics, as well as with national group Phoenix Boys, said the experience was “surreal”. He said: “This is something that will never happen again. This was quite surprising as we were the second act to be filmed in the very first series, so it was unlikely we would get the golden buzzer.

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“Little did we know that Bruno would end up in tears and break the golden buzzer. This is something that will stay with me for quite a while.

A tearful Bruno hugged the boys after telling fellow judge Amanda Holden that the group reminded him of himself. Congratulating the boys, Bruno said: “People don’t really understand how difficult it is to make it as a dancer.

“The work that goes into it and the passion – and you literally do it for nothing, you do it for love. I felt that.

Oliver said performing on the Palladium stage made him “feel small.” He said: “You could see every member of the audience, but it's not the 4,000 people in the audience that are the problem, it's the millions of people watching on a screen. »

Oliver’s proud mum Rhoda Edwards, 52, said: “You hope for it, but you know it’s probably not going to happen. Deep down, we all knew that was far from the case. We all thought we might get three or four yeses, but definitely not the golden buzzer. We were all shocked.

Oliver's journey into dance saw him follow in the footsteps of his big sister Beth Edwards, aged 23. He danced in mostly female dance troupes until meeting Phoenix Boys, an all-male group, with whom he has danced for nearly five years.

He said: “You won’t see an all-boy dance group anywhere. Dancers spend their lives dancing with female dancers, learning female technique, which is different from male technique in dance. The way the body works is completely different, and being able to train with boys from all over the UK and with male teachers gives an extra boost to male dancers.

Oliver's dancing skills are evident, but he says he aspires to a career behind the scenes. He said: “I'm not going into a career as a dancer, and that's something that will shock a lot of people. I'm interested in going backstage and doing stage lighting.

Oliver will next appear with Phoenix Boys in the Britain's Got Talent semi-final at Hammersmith Apollo, which will be broadcast on ITV 1 on Sunday June 2 at 7.30pm.

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