BGT winner says he funded the show himself – to the concern of his family

Axel Blake has hit back at critics who said he did not deserve win Britain’s Got Talent because he already has a special on Amazon’s Prime Video filmed at the O2.

The comedian has been working as a property maintenance manager and said he entirely self-funded the show and its filming –making his family concerned about how much he was investing in his dream.

’At the time I was sleeping in my car and driving around the UK to hand out tickets,’ he revealed. ‘I would literally ask people who wanted tickets and then I would drive to them, like a ticket Uber service. 

'There would be times I would have driven for hours and hours to go and meet somebody with tickets for my show and then they would never ever turn up.’

'I lived, breathed, cried for that stand-up show. It all came out of my own pocket – I took food of the family table so that I could pursue that stand-up gig that was completely funded and managed by me. I sorted and paid for lighting, staging, you name it, that was me.’

He said he when he got the show – which was actually filmed at The O2’s smaller Indigo venue rather than the arena itself – ‘I didn't receive a fee but decided to do it as it could help me get more exposure’.

'The deal only lasted a year which is why you can't even find it if you look now. Now, as an up-and-coming comedian, would you say no? 

He told Lorraine Kelly on her ITV show: 'I put that show on myself. I put my money where my mouth is and I achieved that... It looks like "Oh my gosh, it's Amazon Prime", but if they saw the back end, it didn't look like that financially, a lot of stress…’

'I've never hidden my past and I've always been open about previous work that I've done. I'm just a bloke trying to do his best, trying to strive for more.'

Just under 7million people saw Blake win yesterday’s Britain's Got Talent final on ITV, taking home £250,000 an a slot on the Royal Variety Performance. The show has been criticised for featuring entertainment professionals rather than amateurs,

Published: 6 Jun 2022