Expat Paddy takes Britain’s Got Talent by storm

A seventy-nine-year-old British expatriate from near Valencia was the star of the show of Saturday night’s Britain’s Got Talent.

Despite being buzzed by Simon Cowell early in what seemed a dull routine, Paddy Jones and her dance partner Nico Espinosa held their nerve to launch into an acrobatic dance routine that left the audience and judges gasping.

A twirling Paddy performed a series of moves that would put competitors 60 years younger to shame with their energy, technique and courage.

And that led to a standing ovation from the huge crowd at Birmingham’s ICC where the audition was filmed, an apology from Simon Cowell for buzzing her, and most importantly, Amanda Holden hitting the Golden Buzzer. That puts Paddy (real name Sarah) and Nico straight through to the smash ITV talent show’s semi finals.

Paddy revealed her dreams of becoming a professional dancer ended in 1956 when she married and decided to raise a family.

She and husband David finally retired to Spain, but shortly afterwards, in 2003, he died of leukemeia.

So the great grandmother decided to fill the hours in her new life alone by taking up dance again. She walked into Nico’s dance studio hoping to learn Flamenco. The pair hit it off and were soon competing in club competitions around Spain. In 2009 they won the Spanish TV talent competition Tu Si Que Vales before deciding to bring their routine to a British audience.