What happened to Britain's Got Talent child star 19 years after making final

Cast your mind back to 2007: Spider-Man 3 was the highest-grossing film of the year, the Harry Potter book series concluded, and British tenor Paul Potts was the inaugural Britain’s Got Talent winner.

The beloved ITV programme, heading into its 20th series next year, has seen the rise of many a famous face, including Susan Boyle, who earned a shout-out from Timothée Chalamet last year, and Calum Scott, who topped the charts with his cover of ‘Dancing on My Own’ by Robyn in 2015.

But back in 2007, there was a six-year-old girl competing for the crown who won the heart of the nation: Connie Talbot.

19 years ago, the young singer impressed us all by singing Judy Garland’s ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ from The Wizard of Oz and still ended up bagging a spot with Simon Cowell's label despite coming as a runner-up.

At the time, BGT stalwart Cowell hailed Talbot as ‘pure magic’ and claimed she would make ‘one million-plus’ in record sales.

The youngster made it into the 2007 final after charming the audience with her penultimate performance of ‘Ben’ by Michael Jackson, but was pipped at the post by Potts.

Despite not receiving her flowers on the evening, Cowell swooped in and signed her to his now-defunct record label, Sony BMG, which later dropped her after a few songs.

Upon pulling out of the supposedly lucrative deal, the company claimed: “The decision not to proceed was made with the best intentions for Connie, taking into consideration her age and that it would not be right to do so at this time.”

But due to turn 26 November, Talbot has been continued to carve out a career in music over the years.

The singer-songwriter has since released four records, three EPs—the latest of which, Original, arrived on 15 May—and a variety of singles, including covers of Sam Smith’s ‘Lay Me Down’ and Alesso’s ‘Heroes’.

She's also supported the likes of Boyce Avenue on tour.

On 25 September, the British singer dropped an updated cover of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ on Instagram, and she looks unrecognisable.

“Just posted a spontaneous video, virtual concert saw it first. Miss my little community, I’ll be back soon with more vids,” she promised.

Friends and fans flocked to the Instagram video’s comments to have their say on the cover.

“My very favourite song of all time! Nobody doesn’t like you, Connie thank you for you!!,” said Broadway co-producer Michael Scott wrote.

Another fan commented: “Your voice is so beautiful so hypnotising.”

“Love you, Connie. Your voice IS Out of this world,” replied a third.

Someone else added: “Most underrated voice ever.”

In 2019, Talbot returned to her BGT roots to compete on The Champions spin-off show, hosted by Ant & Dec.

The six-episode TV show saw Twist and Pulse crowned winners. Stavros Flatley was cast as runner-up, and sand artist Kseniya Simonova came in third.

The ‘Never Give Up On Us’ star was eliminated in the preliminary round.

It’s reported that Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions will return to mark the programme’s 20th anniversary in Autumn 2027.