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Senior Member
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Ireland
Posts: 23,508
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Ireland
Posts: 23,508
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BGT: Spine disease blinded George in one eye
Quote:
BRITAIN’S Got Talent winner George Sampson told last night how a devastating spine disease sent him BLIND in one eye.
But brave George, 14, vowed to defy doctors who have warned his torso-twisting dance routines could cripple him.
The youngster, who overcame his disability to scoop a £100,000 prize in Saturday’s final, insisted: “There’s no way I’d ever give up dancing. Nothing would stop me.”
The busking breakdancer revealed for the first time that he suffers from rare Scheuermann’s disease, a curvature of the spine that hits fast-growing teenagers.
And he told The Sun that the condition left him blind in his right eye for two months shortly before his TV bid for fame.
Recalling the terrifying moment just before Christmas, George said: “The eye was all inflamed. I’d been using Deep Heat for my sore back, so at first I just thought I’d got it in my eye. But I ended up blind.
“The spinal nerves were trapped and it affected my optic nerves.
“I lost all my coordination and it was really hard to dance, as I didn’t have my balance. I kept bumping into everything.
“It was really hard. There were a few times when I panicked that my eyesight wouldn’t come back. I did get really down.”
George admitted that doctors have warned him he should stop his beloved breakdancing in case it leaves him permanently disabled.
His show-winning Singing In The Rain performance ends with a flip which sees him slam to the floor on his back.
His mum Lesley, 39, said: “The doctors have said it’s not great for him to be breakdancing, especially landing so hard on his back.”
Even as she spoke, George interrupted to insist: “No way.”
But he admitted he now has to be rushed to hospital if his eye becomes sore – the first sign that he needs urgent treatment.
The live final on ITV1 – in which George beat dance duo Signature and choirboy Andrew Johnston into second and third place – was watched by a 14.4 million people.
More than 2.2 million viewers voted for the finalists.
That made it the most watched entertainment show this year. It won 60 per cent of the TV audience, easily outstripping BBC1 rival I’ll Do Anything’s search for a Nancy in stage musical Oliver! That pulled in 7.3 million viewers
For George, the victory is life-changing. The lad – who failed last year’s auditions for the show – is lined up to appear before Prince Charles at the Royal Variety Show and will star in a Britain’s Got Talent tour.
But life so far has been anything but easy for George, from Warrington, Cheshire.
His mum Lesley and dad Brian split when he was nine. Sisters Chelsea, 17, Emily, 16, and Rosie, 13, went to live with his dad, while George and brother Luke, 19, stayed with classroom assistant Lesley.
Money is in short supply and determined George performs on the streets to pay for his £15 dancing lessons. He had to busk to get to the show’s auditions and even danced on Christmas Day so he could buy family presents.
He has also faced cruel taunts about the dancing that has been his passion since the age of six.
George said: “Kids called me a beggar for busking. I’ve also been called ****, ******, queer, little girl. But now I just think, ‘I’m the one on TV, not you’.”
His fame has also added to his popularity with girls. He revealed: “During the semi-final there were 150 of them outside my home – just my luck, I was in London.”
He also revealed that he got up to behind-the-scenes antics with new best pal Andrew Johnston, 13.
The pair became close to the Harlequins, the pretty Irish dancers who reached the semi-finals.
Asked if any snogging happened, George smiled: “That’s for me and Andrew to know!” His street dancing is such a hit with shoppers that officials in Manchester threatened him with an Asbo for causing an obstruction. He explained: “I sometimes get hundreds watching.”
Sadly, relations between his parents are still strained and the family barely see each other. They were briefly reunited on Wednesday after George’s semi-final.
But his window fitter dad Brian, 40, was not at Saturday’s emotional final.
Brian said: “It was so difficult not being there for him, I was in tears. But it would have been very awkward and not fair on George.”
George now has two famous guardians watching over his career – show hosts Ant and Dec.
Ant told The Sun: “I shed a tear when George won, I was that emotional. We told him afterwards, ‘Here’s our numbers, if you need anything, you can call us’.
“We started acting at about George’s age and you remember how hard it was.”
Beaming George said: “Ant and Dec were brilliant. I still can’t believe I’ve won. It’s all a blur.”
Judge Simon Cowell may have helped George clinch victory, thanks to a last-minute switch.
He was to perform Staying Alive by the Bee Gees but decided to repeat Singing In The Rain, the brilliant routine which got him through to the final.
George said: “I wasn’t sure but Simon told me it was the best routine. He says he’s got something really special for me to do at the Royal Variety Show.”
He dedicated Saturday’s performance to his old dance teacher Royston Swanny at Birchwood Performing Arts, who died two years ago. The caring teenager has also pledged to pay his mum’s mortgage on their ex-council house with his winnings – although Lesley wants him to keep the money.
George said: “All I really want to buy is one of those cool, old VW camper vans, so I can go busking around the country.”
But for now he must return to school today for his mock GSCE in music. And George revealed he got detention for the first time ever – for spending too much time on Britain’s Got Talent.
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The Sun
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02-06-2008, 12:35 PM
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