The family of Britain’s Got Talent winner Sydnie Christmas have told of their pride that her life-long dream of singing in the West End has finally come true.
Sydnie, 28, swept the board with her heart-moving rendition of ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ at the nail-biting finish of last night’s show. And today, her youngest sister Rhoni told how the hard-fought victory had been the culmination of Sydnie’s life work. Speaking at the family’s home in rural Kent, Rhoni, 25, told MailOnline: ‘I could not even put into words how we are feeling as a family. Sydnie has worked all of her life to get where she is and she deserves it more than anything. We are extremely proud of her. ‘Sydnie has been performing from a very young age. Since I was a little girl, it was all that she has done. She has been singing around the house all of my life.
Sydnie Christmas was crowned the winner of Britain’s Got Talent 2024 during Sunday night’s nail-biting final
Today, her youngest sister Rhoni (pictured left) told how the hard-fought victory had been the culmination of Sydnie’s life work
Sydnie Christmas met singer Teddy Swims the morning after winning Britain’s Got Talent
The songs that I remember her singing all the time was from the film ‘Little Mermaid’, was it ‘Part Of This World’?’
Rhoni revealed how the family had had special ‘Vote For Sydnie’ t-shirts printed and had urged their neighbours in the village of Meopham to support the ‘local girl’ in a banner.
Today her grandmother, Breda Lye, 82, was still wearing hers, the night after Sydnie’s historic win.
Instead she was enjoying the limelight following her dramatic win last night.
Rhoni said: ‘Sydnie’s not here. She is up London, doing interviews.’ Her proud parents, Mark and Jan, are believed to be with her.
Four generations of the Christmas family – Sydnie, her parents, her grandmother, her sister and her nephew – live in a sprawling five-bedroom house with a huge garden, situated in a private road with thick woodland on the edge of Meopham.
Sydnie grew up in Kent and played rugby as a child but her only dream was to sing in a West End show.
Sydnie grew up in Kent and played rugby as a child but her only dream was to sing in a West End show. Pictured are posters up in the local area
After winning Britain’s Got Talent some might imagine that Sydnie would pull out all the stops to celebrate the biggest night of her life.
However, the singer stuck true to her humble roots and went on a night out with friends at her local Wetherspoons.
Sydnie had insisted that if she won the £250,000 prize she would be returning to work this morning – joking previously that she has ‘rent to pay’.
Her performance on Sunday night – dubbed the best the show has ever seen by head judge Simon Cowell – and throughout the series has captured hearts across Britain, and now it looks like she’ll be able to have a crack at her dream of working full time on the West End.
As a result of her victory Sydnie has sealed a coveted place at the Royal Variety Performance, meaning she could perform in front of the likes of King Charles and Prince William – a far cry from the cruise ships she used to sing on.
It seems unlikely that Sydnie will forget her humble beginnings and the hard work she put in to beat ten other outstanding acts with her rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow after a jam-packed episode.
After winning last night the overwhelmed star broke down as she said: ‘I don’t know what to say! I cannot believe the amount of love I’ve felt since it aired. It’s absolutely – oh my god. I am overwhelmed with love and I wish for one day that everyone feels the way I do. It’s amazing, thank you so much.’
She was the favourite to take the top spot ahead of the final after winning her semi-final heat with her rendition of Frank Sinatra’s My Way that wowed judges.
After her performance on Sunday’s final judge Amanda said: ‘I know how long you have waited for this moment, it was utterly spellbinding and perfect in every way. It was just gold dust.’
Fellow judge Bruno added: ‘That is what I call a show-stopping performance, you took my breath away!’, while Alesha said: ‘You just radiate hope and joy and light – and there was something about that performance and that emotion, I felt it move through my body with you.’
Simon then commented: ‘That was really something special. That lyric felt so personal to you about what you must have wanted over the years with a God-given talent like that and for whatever reason you’ve been ignored. I actually felt very emotional.’
Sydnie has dreamt of being able to work full time on the West End and is hopeful that BGT will be a stepping stone to make that dream a reality.
After winning the overwhelmed star broke down as she said: ‘I don’t know what to say! I cannot believe the amount of love I’ve felt since it aired. It’s absolutely – oh my god!’
