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Privacy NoticeBritain’s Got Talent’s winners have often gone on to great things. Stars like Diversity, Collabro and Paul Potts are household names, 17 years since the talent competition first made its debut on our TV screens. But often the show’s losers also experience huge success in their own right. One of its biggest success stories is Susan Boyle, who won over the judges and viewers with her eccentric style and beautiful voice back in 2009, before going on to sell millions of albums around the world. And sometimes there are those we remember for their standout acts – like Ashleigh and her adorable, talented dog Pudsey or little Connie Talbot, who was just seven when she appeared on BGT in 2007 with her rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, moving judge Amanda Holden to tears.
Bessie sang a song from Mary Poppins
(Image: Ken McKay/REX/Shutterstock)
She also showcased two numbers from My Fair Lady
(Image: Ken McKay/REX/Shutterstock)
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That very same year, another young singing star made an impression on the judges. Eleven year old Bessie Cursons sang Wouldn’t It Be Loverly from the musical My Fair Lady, with Piers Morgan later branding her ‘charming’ and predicting she’d end up in the West End. Simon Cowell added: “That was in my opinion the most professional audition I’ve seen throughout the whole competition,’ Simon added. Portsmouth-born Bessie performed Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Mary Poppins in the semi-finals, then went back to My Fair Lady for the finals, with Get Me To The Church On Time. Sadly, she was beaten by opera singer Paul Potts.
Bessie Cursons is all grown up
(Image: Instagram/@bessiecursons)
She runs her own dance school in Portsmouth
(Image: Instagram/@bessiecursons)
But Bessie soon found success away from BGT, appearing in the Alan Carr and Martin Freeman film Nativity!, playing posh pupil Christy, then landed a role in the West End production of Oliver! alongside Blackadder star Rowan Atkinson. She went on to play the leading role of Jaz in CITV series My Phone Genie, about a young girl with a genie in her phone. She appeared in all 26 episodes of the 2012 children’s programme. Later successes included a role in Casualty in 2016, alongside S Club 7’s Hannah Spearritt. Nearly 20 years later, Bessie is unrecognisable as the former child star. The 28 year old runs her own dance school back in Portsmouth, The Bessie Cursons Theatre & Dance Academy, where she’s listed as Principal. Just last month, the academy presented a Celebration Of Musicals at Porstmouth’s New Theatre Royal, “showcasing our wonderful dancers of all ages, come and enjoy an evening of entertainment, full of music, singing and dancing.” Bessie married her partner Ashley Carter in July 2021, and they welcomed their baby daughter in December 2022. Watch Britain’s Got Talent on Sunday, 26 May at 7.30pm on ITV1 and ITVXStory SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterMore OnCasualtyS Club 7DramaHannah SpearrittPiers MorganSimon CowellAlan CarrAmanda HoldenBritain’s Got TalentWhere Are They NowNostalgia
