Britain’s Got Talent’ kicked off a brand new series on Saturday night, and the act everybody is talking about is Paddy and Nico, whose audition saw 79-year-old Paddy performing a salsa routine that would put dancers half her age to shame.

Their dance routine impressed the judges so much - even Simon Cowell, who minutes before the act took to the stage revealed that ballroom dancing bored him to tears - that Amanda Holden became the first person on the panel to push the ‘golden buzzer’, automatically putting Paddy and Nico through to the next round.

paddy and nico

Paddy and Nico perform their awe-inspiring audition

However, the new series of ‘BGT’ has already had its first controversy, after it emerged that Paddy has already appeared on a similar TV talent show in Spain back in 2009 - and went on to win it.

Paddy defended herself to the Sunday People, admitting: “We were picked by the producers but it was our own idea.

“‘Britain’s Got Talent’ is a nice change from doing things on Nico’s side in Spanish-speaking countries. We have come along to ‘BGT’ to enjoy ourselves – and we are.”

Meanwhile show boss Simon Cowell also stuck up for the salsa-dancing gran, taking to his Twitter on Sunday morning to say:

He went on to add that it’s the audience at home who will decide who wins the competition - not producers - tweeting: “She is 80 years old. Let her have that chance. You the viewers will decide.”

simon cowell

Simon Cowell

He’s also told the Sunday People that he’d love to see the pair victorious in this year’s final, revealing that Paddy reminded him of his own mum, who is also a dancer.

Simon said: “Mum’s in her 80s and she can still dance - like Paddy.

"When I saw Paddy audition I thought, ‘She’s just like my mum’. She is a great feel-good inspirational story. I would be happy if Paddy won.”

Watch Paddy and Nico's amazing audition again here:

‘Britain’s Got Talent’ continues next Saturday, April 19 at 7pm on ITV

  • <strong>Who?</strong> Jack Carroll <strong>In A Nutshell: </strong>Hilarious, and surprisingly touching, mini Jason Mamford <strong>BGT Series:</strong> 7 <strong>How Did They Do?</strong> Runner-up <strong>Who Did They Lose To?</strong> Attraction <strong>Where Are They Now?</strong> In between studying for his GCSEs (!), Jack is still performing stand-up in venues all over the country, and has signed a deal with Simon Cowell to release his autobiography which will detail his childhood, living with cerebral palsy and his rise to fame on 'BGT'.

  • <strong>Who?</strong> Richard & Adam <strong>In A Nutshell: </strong>A pair of Welsh brothers <strong>BGT Series:</strong> 7 <strong>How Did They Do?</strong> Finalists <strong>Who Did They Lose To?</strong> Attraction <strong>Where Are They Now?</strong> Since making it to the final of last year's show they've released not one but two albums, which isn't bad at all considering their performance in the final was rather upstaged by disgruntled violinist Natalie Holt, who was seen pelting the judging panel with eggs before quickly being escorted offstage by producers.

  • <strong>Who?</strong> Gabz <strong>In A Nutshell: </strong>Onesie-wearing youngster hoping to be the next Alicia Keys <strong>BGT Series:</strong> 7 <strong>How Did They Do?</strong> Finalist <strong>Who Did They Lose To?</strong> Attraction <strong>Where Are They Now?</strong> After wowing the judges - and the general public - with her original composition 'The One', Gabz released it is a single on Simon Cowell's label, where it peaked inside the UK top ten. Not bad considering she's just 15 years old.

  • <strong>Who?</strong> George Sampson <strong>In A Nutshell: </strong>Shy schoolboy who surprised us all with his impressive dance skills <strong>BGT Series:</strong> 2 <strong>How Did They Do?</strong> Winner <strong>Where Are They Now?</strong> George was just 14 when he wowed us with his 'Singing In The Rain' breakdance performance, and his career his since gone from strength to strength. Although he found fame as a dancer, you're more likely to see him acting these days, and has had TV roles in 'Mount Pleasant' as well as 'Waterloo Road'.

  • <strong>Who?</strong> Diversity <strong>In A Nutshell: </strong>Dance troupe with a different who wowed the public with their innovative routines <strong>BGT Series:</strong> 3 <strong>How Did They Do?</strong> Winner <strong>Where Are They Now?</strong> Undeniably one of Britain's Got Talent's biggest success stories, Diversity did it all following their big win - they've sold out UK tours, appeared in the film StreetDance 3D and become household names as individuals too - Ashley Banjo is now a judge on Sky's 'Got To Dance' while Perri Kiely recently triumphed in the second series of 'Splash!'

  • <strong>Who?</strong> Ashleigh and Pudsey <strong>In A Nutshell: </strong>One girl and her dog <strong>BGT Series:</strong> 6 <strong>How Did They Do?</strong> Winner <strong>Where Are They Now?</strong> After becoming the first animal act to win 'BGT', Pudsey become an overnight household name. Later this year 'Pudsey: The Movie' will hit cinemas, while they have also appeared together in the ITV2 series 'Top Dog Model'. Our favourite Ashleigh and Pudsey moment, though, was when they did a conga with Kim Kardashian on 'Alan Carr: Chatty Man'. Despite it all Pudsey has not let fame go to his head.

  • <strong>Who?</strong> Attraction <strong>In A Nutshell: </strong>That trick you used to do with a torch when you were a kid, on a much grander scale <strong>BGT Series:</strong> 7 <strong>How Did They Do?</strong> Winner <strong>Where Are They Now?</strong> They won Britain's Got Talent in 2013 and since then have performed in venues all over the globe including China, Las Vegas and, of course, for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance. Of course, their crowning achievement will always be getting the ice-hearted Simon Cowell to actually shed a tear, and they didn't even need to threaten Squiddly and/or Diddly.

  • <strong>Who?</strong> Paul Potts <strong>In A Nutshell: </strong>He can bring a tear to your eye with his singing and fix your mobile at the same time <strong>BGT Series:</strong> 1 <strong>How Did They Do?</strong> Winner <strong>Where Are They Now?</strong> Paul won the very first series of 'Britain's Got Talent' with his impressive operatic performance, and has since gone on to release albums, a memoir and even had a film made about his life, 'One Chance', which saw James Corden in the lead role.

  • <strong>Who? </strong>Shaheen Jafargholi <strong>In A Nutshell: </strong>The original Ronan Parke <strong>BGT Series: </strong>2 <strong>How Did They Do? </strong>Finalist <strong>Who Did They Lose To?</strong> George Sampson <strong>Where Are They Now?</strong> Shaheen's love of Michael Jackson saw him invited to join him at his This Is It gigs in London. After Michael suddenly died before the tour, Shaheen performed a tribute to him at the 2009 Mobo Awards. A month later he flew to the US to appear on Oprah and the Jackson family invited him to sing at Michael's globally televised funeral memorial service. After then signing a record deal, Shaheen is still waiting to release music after plans for his album were shelved.

  • <strong>Who?</strong> Susan Boyle In A Nutshell: Reclusive Scottish spinster to international star in 24 hours <strong>BGT Series:</strong> 3 <strong>How Did They Do?</strong> Runner-up <strong>Who Did They Lose To?</strong> Diversity <strong>Where Are They Now?</strong> She might not have won series 3 of 'BGT' but SuBo is by far the most successful act to have come out of the show. Her debut album 'I Dreamed A Dream' was the fastest selling UK debut album of all time selling 411,820 in its first week and reached No.1 on both sides of the Atlantic. She has since released another three hit albums and received two Grammy nominations. Despite being worth over £22 million, Susan still lives in a council house in Blackburn.

  • <strong>Who? </strong>Twist & Pulse <strong>In A Nutshell:</strong> Body-popping street dance duo made up of cheeky chappy pals Ashley Glazebrook (Twist) and Glen Murphy (Pulse) <strong>BGT Series: </strong>4 <strong>How Did They Do? </strong>Finalists <strong>Who Did They Lose To?</strong> Spellbound <strong>Where Are They Now?</strong> After finishing second in 2010, they released a single called 'Jump' a year later with little success. The dancing duo then went on to support Jedward on their Irish tour before returning to the show in 2012 after setting up their own dance troupe, 'Twist and Pulse Dance Company', who reached the live semi finals. The lads then went up and down the country on the Olympic torch relay, performing every night at the torch stopovers.

  • <strong>Who?</strong> Jonathan and Charlotte <strong>In A Nutshell:</strong> Unlikely teen opera duo who did a 'Susan Boyle' <strong>BGT Series: </strong>6 <strong>How Did They Do? </strong>Runners Up <strong>Who Did They Lose To?</strong> Ashleigh and Pudsey <strong>Where Are They Now?</strong> After signing to Simon Cowell's Syco label for £1 million, the duo released their debut album, 'Together', which went gold in the UK and reached No.5 on the UK album chart - the highest every entry by a classical album into the main album chart. Unfortunately it wasn't to last, and in February 2014 they announced they were going their separate ways as solo artists. We were very emotional, it was like H & Claire all over again...

  • <strong>Who? </strong>Ronan Parke <strong>In A Nutshell: </strong>Cutie-pie singer who melted Amanda Holden's heart BGT Series: 5 <strong>How Did They Do?</strong> Finalist <strong>Who Did They Lose To? </strong>Jai McDowall <strong>Where Are They Now? </strong>After a shock result which saw the firm favourite come second, Simon Cowell quickly signed Ronan in a joint deal with another label. However, his record deal was short lived after his debut album failed to set the charts alight. Ronan is still planning to release more music and performed at the Beijing New Year Gala to an estimated TV audience of 700 million.

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK |