Jon Courtenay (born 4 March 1973) is an English singer, pianist, entertainer and comedian, known for winning the fourteenth series of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

'', having previously been awarded the golden buzzer during his audition by presenters

Ant & Dec Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo consisting of Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly from Newcastle upon Tyne. After meeting as child actors on CBBC's drama ''Byker Grove'', they performed together as pop musicians PJ & Duncan, ...

. He was the first ever Golden Buzzer act to win in the history of the show.

Early life

Courtenay is from

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, south-east of Oldham and east of Manchester. The town grew ...

and attended the

Royal Hospital School The Royal Hospital School (also known as "RHS" and historically nicknamed "The Cradle of the Navy") is a British co-educational fee-charging international boarding and day school with naval traditions. The school admits pupils aged 11 to 18 ...

Career

In 2020, Courtenay entered and won the 14th series of the ITV talent competition ''

'', which took place during the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He wrote and performed a one-man musical at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022 and 2023.

Personal life

Courtenay has two sons. During filming of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in July 2020, a suspicious

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...

on the left side of his head was found to be a

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

. After treatment, he was given the all-clear by the end of the year. However, it was then discovered that the cancer had spread to his neck, which required major surgery and a course of treatment. This experience inspired a new show, ''Against The Odds'', a one-man comedy musical that he took to the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

in 2022.

Appearances

Television

Tours

References

External links

Official site

Article in ''Evening Chronicle''

Article in ''Ipswich Star''
* * * 1973 births Britain's Got Talent winners English male pianists English entertainers English male comedians Living people People from Mossley Musicians from Greater Manchester Comedians from Greater Manchester English comedy musicians {{England-singer-stub