Britain's Got Talent winner Sydnie Christmas wants to keep BGT singing coach

Watch: Sydnie Christmas discusses her BGT win

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Britain's Got Talent winner Sydnie Christmas has said she wants to spend her prize money on the voice coach who helped her win the show.

The 28-year-old singer has been voted the winner of the 17th series of the ITV talent show despite a 'fix row' emerging over her theatre training and appearances in musicals and movies.

Christmas insisted that while "it's not about the money" for her, she had thought about spending the ￡250,000 on lessons from the voice coach she was given on the show. The singer said the coaching had improved her voice more in the past two months than in her three years training at college.

Christmas also revealed she is already considering several offers from agents.

What, how and why?

Christmas appeared on This Morning to discuss her success as the winner of BGT 2024. The singer was put straight through tot he semi-final by judge Amanda Holden as her Golden Buzzer act. She went on to be voted the winner by the public after performing Somewhere Over The Rainbow in Sunday night's live final. She wins ￡250,000 prize money and the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Performance.

Hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard asked Christmas if she had checked her bank account yet to see if the money way in there. She said: "No. It's sort of like, it's not even about the money, 'Cause this is just amazing. You sort of can't believe it."

Asked how she would spend the money she said: "Not a clue," But added: "I loved my singing coach on BGT, Annabel Williams. She was amazing and got me through that. And I said to her, 'I can afford you now.' She made me better in two months than going to college for three years. She's amazing and I just love her."

Christmas trained at the D&B Academy of Performing Arts in London in 2014, has worked as a singer on cruise ships, performed in musicals, had small parts in movies and even appeared in reality show Stage School. But she has never been a leading lady on the West End stage and she has previously admitted that is "my dream".

She told Deeley and Shepherd: "I've had some interest from some really good agencies, and then it's just it's just picking which one's right for you. But I think I'm hell bent on an agency, just sorting things out, which is so exciting. And the people that are on their books - I just look at this page and I'm like, 'Am I worthy enough to be on this page of these people?' These people that I have grew up watching. It's just it's a miracle."

Christmas is the fifth singing act to win the contest in 17 years, following in the footsteps of first ever operatic winner Paul Potts from 2007 and Chelsea pensioner Colin Thackery who won in 2019. Other singers to win were Jai McDowall in 2011 and musical theatre group Collabro in 2014.

Since Britain's Got Talent began it has been won by four comedy acts, two performing dog acts including Ashleigh and Pudsey in 2012 and two dance acts including Diversity in 2009. The comedy acts include Lost Voice Guy in 2018, piano-playing, singing dad Jon Courtenay in 2020, and last year Norwegian comedy performer Viggo Venn. Pianist Tokio Myers won in 2017, Hungarian shadow theatre performers Attraction won in 2013 and gymnastic troupe Spellbound were the winners in 2010.

This Morning airs on weekdays from 10am on ITV1.

The Royal Variety Performance would be held on Friday 22 November at the Royal Albert Hall

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