Britain's Got Talent fans were left in tears this evening as a mum 'gave up' her audition for her daughter.
Claire appeared on the stage for the ITV talent show tonight, where she gave her name and age before talking about her family and daughter Tia, who she had bought along for her 'audition'. She then revealed to the judges that she had asked Tia to accompany her to the filming just to get her to come and audition for herself as she wanted her daughter to show off her talented singing voice.
Tia seemed stunned by the idea and was nervous to perform but eventually agreed, leaving her mum thrilled.
She was given some time to practice and ended up picking Whitney Houston's song I Didn't Know My Own Strength. She received a standing ovation from the judges and got four yeses.
Fans rushed to social media to congratulate Tia on her incredible and powerful performance.
"Omfg this 15 year old has the most powerful voice so far on this years #BritainsGotTalent and knows exactly how to put a brilliant performance #BGT," one wrote, as a second added: "Considering shes only 15 she smashed that, well done tia #BGT."
A third shared: "There's a star in the making. What a beautiful voice. Congratulations Tia & thank you to her proud mum for the suprise audition. #BGT," with a fourth writing: "Well I hope Tia coming onto that stage with no preparation and smashing out a Whitney Houston song sends a strong message to those bullies! She doesn’t know her own strength, but I hope she believes it now."
Claire found herself arrested in 2012 after cannabis was found in Celebrations tins at her home. She spoke exclusively to The Mirror, where she begged people to judge her daughter on her singing, not her mother's troubled past.
She said: "I did go to prison and that’s something I have to live with – the stigma follows me around. Of course I’m sorry. At the time I was angry… angry at life. But I’m doing everything I can to make sure Tia doesn’t make the same mistakes I did. I’ve tried to give my children the best chance – and I’m so proud that Tia is grabbing that chance with both hands."
Claire was later jailed for 12 months for allowing her home to be used to supply drugs, as well as a second charge of affray for assaulting a woman in a drunken fight while on bail.
Speaking about how what happened to her changed her, she added: "Going to prison made me realise I needed to get away from my old life. Now my children are my life – and I want Tia to get the chance to shine."
