[Red Moon]

POTT OF GOLD

MOBILE phone salesman Paul Potts is desperate to win Britain’s Got Talent – because he’s POTT-LESS!

The 36-year-old opera singer is more than £30,000 in debt after taking out credit card after credit card to get by following a motorbike accident.

And, if he picks up the £100,000 winner’s cheque tonight, the first thing he’ll do is get himself in the black.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star Sunday, Paul – nicknamed Pavi by his rivals – said: “I’d love to go on safari and put some money into property but my priority is to pay off my debt.

“I had two years off sick and just lived on credit cards. It was a necessary evil but I just want to get rid of it now.”

Paul, who lives in Port Talbot, South Wales, was bullied as a child and says the only time he feels confident is when he’s singing.

But he has the full support of his wife Julie-Ann, 26. He met the insurance worker on the internet six years ago and the first time they went out he had no idea what she looked like.

The Bristol-born Pavarotti wannabe said: “We met at Swansea train station and then went ten-pin bowling. A few months later, on Christmas Eve 2001, we got engaged and then we married in 2003.”

Fellow finalist, monkey-mad puppeteer Damon Scott, has been swamped with offers from lusty female fans since wowing the judges with his quirky act.

Hotel entertainer Damon, 27, said: “I’ve got a friend looking after my MySpace site and who’s thanking everyone for their support and he’s said there’s loads of interest and people saying they’d like to meet me.

“It’s nice but at the moment all I’m concentrating on is my act. I am single so we’ll just have to wait and see how things go.”

One thing Damon won’t be doing tonight is singing.

Simon Cowell slated him for moving away from his comedy monkey act and impersonating Boyzone hunk Ronan Keating during his semi-final on Thursday night.

He said: “I can’t say exactly what my act is but it’s fair to say I’ve taken the judge’s comments on board and singing will be banned.”

Damon, who works at his parents’ hotel near Salisbury, Wiltshire, would love to launch his own muppet show.

He said: “There’s a definite gap in the market for that kind of show. “I’d love to do something like that.”

Source: Daily Star Sunday

[Matt]

*Tumbleweeds start rolling around*