Sydnie Christmas kept 'pulling out' of BGT auditions in the years before she won: 'I was frightened'

Sydnie Christmas kept "pulling out" of 'Britain's Got Talent' auditions in the years before her victory.

The 29-year-old singer had been trying to get a break in the West End before she won the latest series of the ITV1 talent show earlier this year but revealed that she had applied several times in the past and kept dropping out at the last minute because she was too "frightened" to go on stage as herself.

She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I don't think I ever saw anything else for me, other than theatre. So, 'Britain's Got Talent' when applying, I was going through the process on and off for four years. And I'd start sending videos, and you have to go through the producer auditions and things like that, and then I'd pull out, if I was, if I was getting a bit in the process, I'd pull out. I'd go back to 'Starlight Express' in Germany if they'd ask me or something in Germany, go to theatre where I felt safe, because when you're in theatre, you are, you've got a bit of script, you're a character. You're tapping into somebody else. But the thought of going on stage as myself was frightening."

Following her performance of 'Tomorrow' from 'Annie' for her audition, judge Amanda Holden sent Sydnie straight through to the semi-finals with the Golden Buzzer and she advanced to the grand final of the competition following her rendition of 'My Way'.

After wowing audiences with her version of 'Over the Rainbow', Sydnie won the competition and will perform at the Royal Variety Show in 2025.

But she has now released her debut album 'My Way', and will head out across the country on tour in February next year.

The album features festive classics such as 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' and also features musical theatre numbers such as 'She Used to Be Mine' from 'Waitress', and Sydie admitted that she feels "very lucky" to have had the chance to make an album while she continues to pursue her dreams of treading the boards.

She said: "I'm a little bit of a perfectionist, and, this is a world that I never thought that I had a chance in, or could be involved in, so, in recording an album and things like that, because I just wanted to be on the West End. And hopefully, I am still chasing that dream. Hopefully I will be but it's really lovely to know that I have a I have a crack at the other side of the industry, the recording side, and people like what they hear are still very lucky and grateful."

To order the album and to find out more about the 'My Way' tour, visit www.sydniechristmas.london.