Paul Potts

Between 1999 and 2003 the tenor, from Port Talbot in south Wales, appeared in four amateur productions for the Bath Opera company, including The Marriage Of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Don Carlos and Turandot. He also performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and toured northern Italy for three months as a soloist.

However, after spending £20,000 on his career hopes, including a masterclass in which he sang for Luciano Pavarotti, doctors discovered a benign tumour during treatment for appendicitis in 2003. Then, shortly after his recovery, he broke his collar bone in a bike accident.

"It meant for a couple of years, instead of thinking about singing, I was lying on the sofa in agony. Now when I go on stage my wife Julie doesn't want people to say break a leg, because I probably will." For a time he worked as a shelf-stacker in Tesco and attempted to put dreams of singing behind him.

Potts, born in Bristol in 1971, hid his talent from colleagues at Bridgend's Carphone Warehouse, where he was employed when he entered Britain's Got Talent. Yet as word spread of his singing, the unassuming star was forced to counter accusations that he was, in fact, an experienced and trained performer.

"I have never worked as a professional singer," he said. "I have poured everything I could earn into a few lessons, but everyone taking part in this television show has had some training.

"My four performances with Bath Opera a few years back were all amateur. I am angry about this because I have never earned anything, although I did get petrol expenses a couple of times."

His first audition for Britain's Got Talent was on 4 March 2007, where he performed without the judges being present. "Warming up I was fine, but I tightened up a little bit in the room itself," he wrote on an internet message board. "I hate performing for one or two people: I'm always far more happy performing for lots of people.

"I hate performing a capella too, and my pitch was pretty bad at the start, although I did recover it. People waiting commented that I had a great voice. I am my worst critic..."

However, it was enough to get him an audition in front of the judges and audience at the Wales Millennium Centre on 17 March (it was broadcast on 9 June). Although the judges looked sceptical as he announced he was to sing opera, he wowed Cowell, Holden and Morgan with his rendition of Puccini's aria Nessun Dorma from Turandot. The performance ended with a standing ovation from the 2,000-strong audience.

He went on to perform Con te Partirò (Time To Say Goodbye) in the semi-final on 14 June, and eventually won the final three days later. In the meantime he had attracted much worldwide attention, with recordings on YouTube attracting millions of viewers.

Upon winning the show, Potts was given a record deal from Simon Cowell, and a place on the bill of the Royal Variety Performance.

His first album, One Chance, was released within a month of his Britain's Got Talent win, taking the top spot in the UK album chart the following week and going platinum by Christmas that year.

Paul was invited by Katherine Jenkins to appear with her in a concert at Margam Country Park in July 2007 and appeared in a José Carreras gala in Leipzig in December, broadcast live. Throughout 2008, he toured 23 countries, giving 97 performances.

At the 2009 Echo Awards in Germany, Paul won Best International Male Artist. 2009 also saw the release of his second album, Passione, and a third album of film tunes, Cinema Paradiso, was released in 2010.

In 2010, Paul appeared on a Korean talent show and in a flashmob opera in a subway station in Toronto.