Britain’s Got Talent singer Lifford Shillingford gets Alesha Dixon’s golden buzzer

Lifford Shillingford has been revealed as Alesha Dixon’s Golden Buzzer act on Britain’s Got Talent 2018 tonight.

In this evening’s episode, we met 42-year-old singer Lifford Shillingford from South London.

He revealed he had previously enjoyed brief success in the early 00s, appearing on the Artful Dodger’s hit Please Don’t Turn Me On.

But opening up about battling anxiety and depression, Lifford said: “Your career, well-being, even your family, everything falling from underneath you.

“The thing you dream of from being 8 years old, it was one of the most painful things you could imagine.”

His wife added: “Seeing somebody you love and you care about change and seeing them so sad and there was nothing you can do, because you can’t fix it.”

“Auditioning for Britain’s Got Talent is a positive step,” Lifford said before heading out on stage.

Standing before the judges, Lifford and Alesha immediately recognised one another from her Mis-Teeq days.

“I know him,” Alesha remarked. “Good to see you!”

Lifford revealed: “We were on the circuit together, they [Mis-Teeq] were headlining, I think they liked them a little bit more!”

In the episode, Lifford sang ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ by Sam Cooke and his performance saw Alesha hitting the golden buzzer.

Lifford reacted: “Thank you so much, thank you so much.”

Alesha explained her decision: “It felt right. I feel like it takes courage and bravery when you’ve been in the industry and it knocks you down and you came back.

“For you to be on that stage just singing raw, heart and soul, you deserve this moment.”

Simon Cowell commented: “That was a special, special moment. You could feel for the atmosphere in here, you really deserved this moment.”

With Alesha’s golden buzzer, Lifford goes straight through to the live semi-finals later in the year.

At the end of the series, just one act will walk away with £250,000 and a spot on the Royal Variety Performance.

Britain’s Got Talent continues Saturday nights on ITV.