Five minutes before the curtain was raised last night the scene backstage was utter bedlam. Hordes of dancers teetered back and forth on their six inch stilettos, a thick mist of hairspray wafted the air as last minute mirror checks were carried out, singers practiced their yodelling warm-up techniques… and Gareth Oliver sat, a picture of calm amongst the chaos, with a broad grin across his face.
“I feel great!” he smiled: “I know there’ll be millions and millions of people watching tonight, but that’s something I’ll relish, I’m really looking forward to getting out there.”
Earlier in the day, Gareth explained how he felt his lack of air-play so far in the series might turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
“My audition wasn’t really featured that prominently in the show, and it can be a bit gutting when you find out that you’re only in a montage - so as a result there’s not been any hype about me in the press.
“But I’ve had a think about it and reckon it could play to my advantage. I know that when I walk out on that stage a lot of people are going to be thinking ‘who’s that guy?’, because they won’t be that familiar with what I do. But hopefully after watching my act they’ll like me enough to think ‘I like that guy, I’m gonna pick up the phone and vote!’”
Well that’s exactly what did happen last night – thousands of people must have liked his act enough to pledge their support, as the young ventriloquist and his puppet Papa Potts, found themselves tied joint second in the votes with 17 year-old singer Shaun Smith.
With Simon and Amanda both opting to take Shaun to the grand final, Gareth was left to ponder the statement he made to us in those hectic five minutes before the show began:
“I don’t care what the papers have been saying before tonight, as long as they’re talking about me tomorrow - that’s all that matters.”
Well Gareth Mission Accomplished: After last night’s sensational performance both your fan base and your column inches will have grown considerably!
Leave a comment below if you enjoyed Gareth's performance last night...