COUNTY NEWS: Sussex father and son wow the judges on Britain's Got Talent

A father and his son from Sussex performed in front of millions of viewers on ITV's Britain's Got Talent on Saturday evening (April 22).
John and Brandon Pohlhammer. Picture by Tom Dymond

www.tomdymond.co.ukJohn and Brandon Pohlhammer. Picture by Tom Dymond

www.tomdymond.co.uk
John and Brandon Pohlhammer. Picture by Tom Dymond www.tomdymond.co.uk

John Pohlhammer and his 12-year-old son, Brandon, from St Leonards, tap danced and performed a rendition of Me and My Shadow for the show’s judges Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and David Walliams.

Brandon said: “Seeing so many other acts in the waiting room was pretty scary at first, but walking out on the stage in front of the huge crowd and the judges and the lights and TV cameras felt thrilling.

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“I knew I just had to ignore all the butterflies in my stomach and give it the best performance I could. I was really glad to have my mum and dad there with me, and especially performing with my dad made me feel a lot more comfortable.

“I loved the judges’ comments. It was a relief when they were so complimentary because you never know what they might say on the day. So the fact that they all loved it was awesome. Meeting Ant and Dec was really cool, as they were super-friendly. I also got to meet the judges afterwards, which was pretty neat because you normally just see them on TV. Overall, it was a pretty exhausting day, but fun.”

John said: “It was an honour to perform together as father and son on the iconic London Palladium stage. Sitting in the Green Room among photos of Bob Hope, Danny Kaye and all the other classic stars who’ve performed there, you realise that you’re in very good company.

“To get four ‘yes’ votes and a spontaneous standing ovation lasting about 30 seconds from the entire crowd on all three levels of that theatre for our act was incredible.

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“It’s difficult to describe the pride I feel as a father standing onstage with Brandon, not just because he’s such an amazing performer at only 12 years old, but more importantly because he’s such a kind, fun, thoughtful, loving human being.

“I’m sure a lot of parents can relate to how great it is to share an interest with their child.

“We enjoy doing anything together, so sharing our love of singing and dancing together onstage is more fun than I can describe and it leaves my heart bursting with pride and love.

“The fact that we got such a great response from the judges and the crowd there was the icing on the cake.”

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Brandon is no stranger to stardom, as he played the nephew of Stephen Hawking in the six-times nominated Oscar film The Theory of Everything (2014).

He starred alongside Eddie Redmayne, who played the role of the famous astrophysicist, and Felicity Jones, who played fellow Cambridge University student Jane Wilde in a wedding scene set in the 1960s.

He was also one of 13 pupils from The Hastings Stage Studio to feature in The Imitation Game (2014) with Keira Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch, playing evacuees in war-torn London.

Brandon also featured in the fifth series of Downton Abbey, the period drama which depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era from 1912.

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