Britain's Got Talent Andrew Johnston

Following in the footsteps of Paul Potts, this 13 year old kid blows the judges away on Britain's Got Talent.



Britain's Got Talent: Andrew Johnston exclusive
By Lara Gould Tv Editor Lara.Gould@Sundaymirror.Co.Uk 13/04/2008

With his angelic voice and cherubic looks, teenager Andrew Johnston looks like he has the world at his feet.

But Andrew, who was the big hit on the first episode of Britain's Got Talent last night, has had a tough journey to the brink of stardom.

A childhood spent in dire poverty saw him surviving on a diet of bread and milk.

And if that wasn't bad enough, he has endured hell at the hands of bullies because of his love of opera.

Prodigy Andrew, 13, was one of a handful of acts, including contortionist Iona Luvsandorj, funnyman Craig Harper and girl group Scala, to make it through to the next round on the ITV show.

His breathtaking performance of Pie Jesu wowed judges and left panellist Amanda Holden in tears.

Mum Morag Johnston, 48, has told the Sunday Mirror how she walked out of the family home with Andrew when he was just eight months old and struggled single-handed on the breadline to raise him and her three other children.

Andrew, the youngest, was in her arms when she left after her relationship with his dad, Andrew Snr, fell apart.

"I had no job, no income and no home to go to." she said.

"The kids had to make do with bread and milk for dinner because there was no money.

"It was the blackest time of our lives. At the lowest point, I had to go without food because there wasn't enough money for us all to eat. When we did have money for food, I had to make it last. I could make a pound of mince last for days.

"All the kids wore hand me-downs or clothes I made myself. We didn't have any heating, and even if we had I couldn't have afforded to pay the bills.

"Instead we had to go out and collect wood for the fire just to keep warm. I went to sleep every night praying life would get better.

"If you asked me to describe a living hell, that would be it."

Morag - whose three other children Kelly, 27, Jodie, 25, and 22-year-old Daniel are from her first marriage - suffered another blow when her father died a few months later.

"I hit rock bottom then," she said. "Everything seemed to be happening at once but my kids got me through."

Morag kept her family together by taking low-paid jobs. She said: "I've worked in factories, delivered sandwiches, packed eggs at a farm and delivered Indian takeaways.

"Andrew would come with me on jobs because I couldn't afford a babysitter. He would sleep in the back of the car while I took food to people's front doors at all hours. It taught Andrew that nothing comes for free."

Andrew's amazing singing voice was discovered by a teacher when he was seven.

Morag explained: "Andrew has always been very quiet and shy so we had no idea he had this incredible voice. His primary school teacher suggested I took him to the cathedral to join the choir.

"They auditioned him and saw his potential immediately - he is now head chorister at Carlisle Cathedral.

"But I still hadn't heard his voice. The first time I heard him I cried. His voice just blew me away. Even now I get emotional when I hear him sing because it's such a beacon of hope."

But Andrew's success has come at a cost, as he revealed on last night's show. He told judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan how his love of classical music had brought him problems with bullies.

And Morag said: "Andrew comes home from school in floods of tears and runs up to his room to cry because of the taunts. Kids call him gay just because he's in a choir.

"He's too frightened to go out and play in the street in case the bullies come out and start. He's been physically threatened too, but it's the words that cut deepest.

"Physical scars fade. And as his mum I can help make them better. Verbal comments leave no visible mark but last forever.

"It is heartbreaking to see my own son so upset just because he has been born with a God-given talent."

She added: "Lots of times Andrew has begged me to let him quit singing to stop the bullying. It would be such a waste if he threw away this incredible talent.

"It's easy to fall into the wrong crowd and there's always the threat of drink and drugs where we live.

"Andrew is determined to make something of himself and I hope Britain's Got Talent gives him the confidence to believe he can do whatever he wants in life."

Andrew now lives with his mum in a three-bedroom housing association home in Carlisle, Cumbria. He has little contact with his father, who only found out about his son's success on Britain's Got Talent from his local paper.

Morag, who works as a researcher for the Office for National Statistics and supplements her income with benefits, said winning the show's £100,000 prize money would give her son financial security.

She said: "It would give Andrew the kind of start in life I can't give him."