Jeremy Clarkson says his choir’s Britain’s Got Talent win is ‘best thing ever’

By Casey Cooper-Fiske, Press Association Senior Entertainment Reporter

TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has said the farmers’ choir he put together winning Britain’s Got Talent is “the best thing ever”.

The Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir became the first act of its kind to win the ITV talent show on Saturday, with the Clarkson’s Farm presenter, 66, looking emotional and applauding as they performed in the final.

In a post on judge Simon Cowell’s Instagram, Clarkson told him: “That was incredible wasn’t it? I was genuinely nervous.

“The girl on the door said, ‘oh I’m not sure they’re going to win’, the odds were drifting, and I thought, no.

“These guys worked so hard, it’s the best thing ever Simon, thank you for having them.”

Cowell added: “Well you’ve heard it from me, you’ve heard it from Jeremy, and yeah, they did deserve it.

“Great winners, great finalists… thanks everyone for watching.”

After their win was announced, one of the choir’s members, Katryna Shell, told presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly: “We are the first-ever choir to have won Britain’s Got Talent.

“This is for all the farmers out there, for anybody that’s struggling, it’s not a taboo subject, if you’re not OK, speak up, this is for the farmers.”

The choir will receive a £250,000 cash prize and the opportunity to perform at the annual Royal Variety Performance.

Before their performance, the group described Clarkson as their “biggest cheerleader” and added they “couldn’t thank him enough”, while judge KSI, real name Olajide Olatunji, said he wanted to add their original song, This Is Home, to his Spotify playlist after they performed it.

During the final, Cowell said he had questioned their decision to perform an original song, but told them “it paid off” after their performance, calling it “absolutely stunning”, “heartfelt” and “joyous”, while fellow judge Amanda Holden was brought to tears.

Dog act Anastasiia and Salsa finished in third place, while drone display team Celestial finished second after a pre-recorded performance recreating moments from previous series of Britain’s Got Talent with illuminated drones.