How eight-year-old ‘Dr Do Very Little’ roared her way into BGT semi-finals
Jessica Brodin, whose remarkable impressions of dolphins, dogs, cats and tigers impressed all four talent show judges, has been talking to the animals since she was a toddler.
Clarification: This interview was conducted after Jessica had been put through to the next round following her audition. Sadly she did not make the semi-finals.
A Britain’s Got Talent contestant has already amassed more than 50 million views of her TV audition on TikTok. But Jessica Brodin’s life-changing appearance on the ITV1 talent show was not an overnight success.
The eight-year-old, who goes to Belmont pre-preparatory school in The Ridgeway, Mill Hill has been an animal lover virtually since she could talk.
And proud mum Claire – who went to drama school in the same class as Daniella Westbrook – is determined that she should have a fully rounded education and be allowed to grow up properly.
Jessica, whose impression of dolphins, dogs, cats and tigers shocked and surprised the judges, loves David Attenborough and regularly cries when she hears about animals in danger.
She told her mum: “It is not fair because you’ve grown up with all these species and I might not.”
Her mum, 48, said: “In my eyes she’s won already. We’ve had such fun. She really is passionate about animals. She has adopted a snow leopard. She’s not doing it for the fame.
“In the Jewish religion you have to let a fly out of the window because it is a soul that hasn’t found its home and she would get upset if we couldn’t.
“She used to talk to bees and all the animals. We call her Dr Do Very Little!”
Now she is awaiting the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent.
Claire – whose grandfather was a founder member at Woodside Park Synagogue and whose great grandfather was a chazan there – had suggested appearing on BGT as a joke.
But then Jessica – who bumped into David Walliams on a lockdown walk but could not pluck up the courage to speak to him – decided to audition for the show – they applied last July.
Her audition involved pretending to be a poet, by holding a Book named ‘Jessica’s Poetry Book’ and sitting in a big pink chair.
“I like reading bedtime stories and I also like watching David Attenborough,” she told them.
But as she told the story of ‘Jessica’s Farm’, she burst into her impressions of animals including a dog, a tiger, a cougar and a dolphin. And a T. Rex.
Judges Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden looked at each other in disbelief, with Amanda asking: “Is that really her?”
Alesha then said: “I don’t think we’ve ever had anyone on the show like you before, which makes you unique.”
Simon joked: “I’m trying to judge as a dolphin.”
He added: “We always loved to be surprised and to have something we’ve never had before and it was different and it was funny.”
The contestants are going head to head to win a the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Performance and a £250k cash prize.
Ant and Dec are back overseeing proceedings in the wings, on hand to provide encouragement to performers as they step out on stage to face the panel.
Britain’s Got Talent has delivered some of the most talked about performances of the last decade, including Diversity, and singer phenomenon Susan Boyle.
The new series of Britain’s Got Talent continues Saturday nights at 8pm.
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