A former Holmfirth student is gearing up to perform on one of the country’s biggest TV programmes on Friday.
Emma Cullingford will appear as part of the Missing People Choir on the semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent on Friday from 7.30pm.
Emma, 33, is a former Holmfirth High and Greenhead College student and got involved with the choir after the disappearance of her mum.
Speaking to the Examiner ahead of the semi-final show, she said: “I’m really excited but my stomach is doing somersaults.
“I have been watching it all week and there is some amazing competition with amazing performances so far.”
Emma is keeping tight-lipped about the Missing People Choir song choice, saying: “We want it to be a secret and we are looking forward to people finding out as it happens.
“We’ve been rehearsing and we’ve done one rehearsal in the TV studio. It’s an amazing studio, I’ve never seen anything like it before and I’m looking forward to singing on the stage.”
Emma came into contact with the Missing People charity after the death of her mother, Sandra Hall, who went missing in 2013 but was found a month later.
She was supported by the charity and wanted to remain involved to help others.
She joined the Choir that performed for Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams and has made it through to this week’s semi-finals.
She added: “I think we have a strong bond anyway through our shared experience, but this has brought us closer together.
“We’re all excited and nervous and I think we want it more than we thought we would and now want to get to the final.”
The choir remains one of the favourites to win the TV show and Emma added: “We can’t help but hear people describe us as favourites, and it’s lovely to be considered that. But anything could happen on the night and there are some amazing performers so we’ll give it everything we’ve got.
The charity is thrilled by the support it has received since the choir’s performance first aired on the TV and Emma added: “We went on to raise awareness of the charity, to help relatives of missing people and also to show there’s support for people who think about going missing.
“That remains our focus.”
To support Missing People text FIND to 70660 and donate £5 to their Find Every Child Appeal. Visit www.missingpeople.org.uk for more.
