Mini Vera Lynn sets Britain's Got Talent standard

Mini Vera Lynn sets Britain's Got Talent standard
Mini Vera Lynn sets Britain's Got Talent standard

Britain's Got Talent judges have been bowled over by a 10-year-old star-in-the-making after she captivated them with a Vera Lynn classic. Chloe Hickinbottom turned back the clock to perform White Cliffs Of Dover by the Forces sweetheart - and won a place in the second round of the series. She was among the star performers as producers gave a sneak preview of the fourth series, which also features naked balloon dancers, a wannabe who burps songs and an ex-footballer turned dancer. Wearing a black-and-white checked dress with sequinned leggings, the youngster impressed Amanda Holden, Piers Morgan and stand-in judge Louis Walsh at the Birmingham auditions. Chief judge Simon Cowell was off sick with flu. "You have an old-fashioned big voice," gushed Amanda. Piers added: "You have an extraordinary voice, I have never heard anything like that. You're a star." Meanwhile teenage drummer Kieron Gaffney, 13, who narrowly missed out on the semi-finals in 2009, was given a second chance by the judging trio at the London auditions. "Last year you were good, but this year you are fantastic," exclaimed Simon. The fourth series of the ITV1 show, which screens on Saturday at 8pm, heads to cities around the country including Newcastle, Manchester, London and Birmingham to search for a winning act to perform at the Royal Variety Performance and scoop £100,000.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.