Britain’s Got Talent winner Axel Blake has responded to claims of a ‘fix’ after triumphing in Sunday’s final.
The comedian won this year’s series at the weekend, topping the public vote ahead of singer Tom Ball and ventriloquist Jamie Leahey.
However Axel’s victory hasn’t been well received by everyone with some unhappy about his win due to his past experience including a show on Amazon Prime.
Axel said: “I understand that you can’t always win everybody over and that everyone is entitled to their opinion. The word ‘fix’ is a strong one, I don’t think somebody trying to become a household name and take their career to the next step should be punished for exploring every avenue possible to be able to showcase their love and craft.
“Whilst some people will know of me, there are a lot of people out there who don’t and it’s about trying to make sure I am chasing all those opportunities out there, to help me stand out amongst all the amazing comedians and entertainers in what is a very competitive industry.
“More and more people are using social media, Tik-Tok, YouTube and it’s about making sure I’m doing everything I can to be seen out there.”
He continued: “I love comedy, it’s not my full-time job by any means, but I want to show my kids that if you love something, if you have a passion, if you never went to settle and always strive for more, then they can always achieve.
“A lot of people don’t know the full story, I put on the show, financed it and filmed it myself, which put me into financial debt. A year later I was able to get it on Amazon in the hope I could get more exposure as a comedian. Only a year later it got picked up by Amazon on a deal that expired two years ago. ”
Axel, who got the golden buzzer from Simon Cowell as his audition, went on: “My family and friends are proud of me. Not everyone is going to love me and that’s okay. I just hope I can make just one person smile or laugh – because that’s why I love what I do. I try, where possible, to focus on the positive and not the negative.
“It’s easy to fall down the social media rabbit hole and start listening to the negatives but I try to filter out the bad. There’s enough negative in the world to deal with, let alone social media trolls who just want attention.”
As winner of Britain’s Got Talent, Axel will take home a £250,000 cash prize and a spot on the bill of this year’s Royal Variety Performance.
On what he plans for the prize money, Axel revealed: “It’s been an intense few months and it’s been such an amazing experience. I’m mindful that I want/need some time with my family. So, if all these holidays stop getting cancelled, it would be nice to go on a family holiday.
“I want to say thank you to my family for being patient with me. For standing by me even when we all questioned whether it was sustainable. They have all allowed me to pursue my dream and they’ve never turned their backs on me, even through the hardest times. So to be able to have some good wholesome family time together would be great.
“It would be nice to be able to process everything that’s happened over the last year sipping something bubbly on a beach somewhere. This win is as much for my family as it is for me.”
And following the live final, Axel reflected: “The moment my son hugged me after I had won the show, that will be a moment I will never forget. To have my family be so proud of me, that means everything. The tears, the down days, the disappointment over the years, this has been worth it all.
“To be voted the winner by the public, it means that I feel like I’ve been accepted, because without the public, entertainers can’t do what they love. The fact that it’s a public vote, means so so much more to me. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who gave up their time to vote for me.”
Britain’s Got Talent airs on ITV.
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