ITV Britain’s Got Talent viewers call 'set-up' as mum…

ITV Britain’s Got Talent viewers call 'set-up' as mum gives up audition for daughter

Britain’s Got Talent viewers have spoken out about one of the performances which featured on Saturday night's show (April 22). The latest episode saw mum Claire Connolly surprise her 15-year-old daughter by giving up her audition spot on the show so that she could sing.

Schoolgirl Tia Connolly sang I Didn’t Know My Own Strength by Whitney Houston, a song she said helped her get through times when she was bullied “for the colour of my skin”.

Judge Amanda Holden said she “absolutely smashed it” and has a “massive career” ahead of her, while Bruno Tonioli said she had an “incredible quality because you were singing from your soul”.

Her audition came after her 33-year-old mother from Liverpool took to the stage to tell the judges that she had arranged a set-up, with her daughter thinking she had come to watch.

She said: “She thinks it’s me who’s auditioning. She’s got me through some very hard times in my life and I feel like I owe her, so I’m giving my audition up for my daughter.

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“This is my way of saying she’s fabulous because she deserves it and she’s an incredible person.”

Following Tia’s audition, Simon Cowell said: “That’s how you do it.” He added: “I really love moments like this, you didn’t know you were going to audition, your mum set you up, I’ll just sing Whitney Houston then, like it’s normal.

“That’s very sweet what you did for your daughter because I’m guessing without you doing that she wouldn’t have auditioned. I absolutely loved this audition.”

Tia Connolly sang Whitney Houston's I Didn’t Know My Own Strength (ITV)

Many viewers were full of praise. One tweeted: "Aww!! What a sweet mum." Another said: "What a great mum Tia has.. you could see Tia’s confidence shine through as the performance went on."

While another viewer tweed: "Wow fair play to her mum giving up her spot she's fantastic never sing in front of anyone wow."

But some viewers felt the incident was a little staged as they took to Twitter. One viewer said' There's a star in the making. What a beautiful voice. Congratulations Tia & thank you to her proud mum for the surprise audition."

Although some viewers weren't sure. One person tweeted: "Let's be real...this girl knows she's auditioning. She knows her mum is probably a s*** singer and she will have a song prepared...good attempt at a story to get through though."

Another saidl: "This whole thing with the mum giving up her audition to her daughter seems SO fake."

And another tweed: "Tia has a brilliant voice. But I’d love to know what she thought her mum was going to do for her “audition”

And another asked: "Did the mum sing at the pre-auditions?" And another said: "The mum & daughter set up is not set up at all."

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