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A long time has passed since I was at the Stoke’s Got Talent auditions, waiting to try and impress the judges. It must seem even longer for the winner of the competition, Daniel Hewitt, because he has been thrust into the demanding world of professional theatre.

His main prize was to star alongside Jonathan Wilkes and Claire Sweeney in the Regent Theatre 2008 pantomime.

Daniel is no stranger to The Regent Theatre, where he has already been in amateur productions of Scrooge, Oliver and Barnum.

He trained at the Thistley Hough Performing Arts College in North Staffordshire where he studied music and drama.

He has won many awards for the Midlands in the past, including Young Entertainer of the Year 2003 and Young Musician of the Year 2002.

Panto

He was given the role of the Young Prince and his version of the song Breaking Free from High School Musical was truly sensational. It was a very different version to the one in the film and this made it even more spectacular to watch.

He did seem fairly nervous on the opening night but the microphones were not working properly which never helps.

Daniel never forgot his lines and had great stage presence. The song ‘If I Were Not Upon The Stage’ allowed him to put some comedy into his role. He played on the fact that he was an amateur boxer in real life and I found that a really wonderful idea!

Christian Patterson said, as Herman the Henchman, he did not wish to be left alone with a talent competition winner. All these references to the talent contest just added to the overall humour of the show.

I liked the way Eric Potts, of Coronation Street fame, wrote the script with Daniel’s strengths in mind.

Pantomime choreographer Nikki Wheeler was one of the organisers of the contest with her husband, Jonathan Wilkes. She was able to use her knowledge of Daniel when giving him dance routines to perform.

TV

Another prize was the chance to appear on the Paul O’Grady show. Mr Hewitt was extremely nervous but his voice was fantastic and Paul likened him to Michael Buble. An old-fashioned microphone was provided and it added to the swing sound of the song.

Daniel told me later he had been stunned by the amount of opportunities given to him since winning the competition.

They included performing at The Sentinel Young Heroes Awards and the Christmas Lights Switch On in Hanley. Daniel told me he has nothing planned for 2009 yet, but I think he will be in high demand. The world is his oyster.

Robert Brown