Britain’s Got Talent Finalist and Panto Legend Steve Royle

Biography Steve is an actor, writer, comedian, juggler, a "Gillard award" winning presenter on BBC Radio Lancashire and now a finalist on ITV's Britain's Got Talent 2020. Steve most recently completed his 17th consecutive pantomime at The Grand Theatre, Blackpool (and his 22nd Pantomime in total) and was also made an honourary member of The Friends Of The Grand in 2016 for his services to the theatre. Last year he starred, to critical acclaim, in the World premier tour of "Naturally Insane: The Life of Dan Leno" and is taking the show to the West End (Criterion Theatre). In 2015 he performed 16 nights at The Manchester Arena as part of the "Phoenix Nights Live" show, helping raise well over £ 5 million in the process. He also appeared at the London Palladium twice within a month later that year when he performed as part of the TV show "Sunday Night At The Palladium" and as warm-up for "One Night With Neil Diamond". He spent many years as "Special Guest" on Dave Spikey's Tours and has supported several other top comedic names including Peter Kay, Mick Miller, Roy Walker and The Lancashire Hotpots! He was also the first comic, ever, to act as "Warm-up" for The Royal Variety Show featuring Take That, Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow and Meatloaf. He is a regular Television "warm-up" for programs such as "The Rob Brydon Show", "A Question Of Sport", "Mastermind" and even survived over 150 episodes of "The Price is Right" with Joe Pasquale a few years ago. Steve's first love, however, is Stand-Up and it is a job that has taken him all over the world: Cruises in the Med, Norwegian Fjords and the Caribbean, hotels and comedy clubs in Hong Kong, Dubai, Crete, Cyprus, Turkey and Japan. He is a regular headline act at The Comedy Store and other "alternative" venues and has several television appearances to his credit. "Phoenix Nights", "Max And Paddy's Road To Nowhere", "Peter Kay's Britain's Got The Pop Factor...", "Stand-up Britain", "Give Your Mate A Break", "The Afternoon Show", "Talk Of The North", a "Real Radio" advert, straight acting roles in "The Things You Do For Love" and "Magnolia", and despite being one of the North West's healthiest males, a medical insurance commercial for "Medicash". He was also featured on the Granada Programme "Behind The Scenes" and "That's Entertainment" (with Cannon and Ball) and was voted "Entertainer of the Year" at the inaugural Red Rose Awards. For over 12 years Steve could be found in the guise of "Mad Edgar" the court jester at Camelot theme park where he presented over 2000 "Crazy Juggling Shows". For years, the father-of-three has been encouraged by family and friends to audition for Britain's Got Talent, but didn't expect to get far. However in August 2020, Steve became the first act sent through to the final, impressing judges with his comedy juggling routines. For 51-year-old Steve, this is the latest journey in a rich history in the world of entertainment. Steve previously charmed the judges in the audition round, with his impressive juggling skills, using his mouth to juggle ping-pong balls before juggling three guitars. His semi final performance was a huge change for Steve, who is used to feeding off an audiences live reaction - the show had to be pre-recorded this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and social distancing, and saw Steve perform to a huge Zoom wall of viewers, as well as the shows judges. The judges unanimously chose to send him through. As Ant and Dec confirmed the news, Steve said it was "crazy and unbelievable" that he had made it through, although he left the entire panel in stitches. The grand final took place in October 2020 and Steve was placed third overall. Which was a wonderful conclusion to an amazing run on the show. And Steve is looking forward to seeing you on tour next year. So watch this space.