The talent of Paul Potts still comes shining right through

If you're ever having a bad day, watch Paul Potts audition for Britain’s Got Talent in 2007. The unassuming Carphone Warehouse salesman, who admitted on stage that he’d “always had a problem with confidence”, brought the house down with his performance of Nessun Dorma, and a star was born.

The test, however, in this world of reality TV – where stars are born every minute – isn’t who makes it, but who stays there. Paul Potts is a living testament to this, having performed 650 shows since then and still going strong.

“It’s been quite manic,” Paul says, in the understatement of the year.

Having already performed more live shows than any other contestant from a talent search programme, the 45-year-old is currently undertaking his UK tour and coming to Oxford on Wednesday, before heading off to Scandinavia for the next leg.

Yet eight years after winning BGT, with success, awards and plaudits galore, he is still the most down-to-earth man in the UK.

“The day job has kept me busy but I manage to pop back to Wales from time to time. It means I never know what day of the week it is, but it has become the norm and I love seeing new places,” he tells me.

Last time we spoke, Paul had just bought a new house in Port Talbot and it was being done up. It’s now finished, so his famously supportive wife Julie-Ann, whom he found via an internet chatroom and met in person for the first time at Swansea railway station in 2001, is ensconced there with the new family dog.

“I think it’s easier for a man to live out of a suitcase, but my wife has always been there for me and I’m very fortunate, even if she does take the Michael,” he laughs fondly. “But that’s our way.”

In fact, so enthralling is Paul’s personal story that it was made into the film One Chance with James Corden playing Paul.

What was it like seeing his life story on the big screen?

“Surreal, but my wife and I both loved the movie and I wanted it to tell the whole story as well as to make people laugh and smile, and not to be too over-dramatic.”

And yet the bullying scenes are quite harrowing.

“I did feel unworthy for a long time,” he says. “Sustained periods of bullying will do that to a person, so I now work with an anti-bullying charity and work on school campaigns. Going back to school was the worst time, especially after long summer holidays when you had to go back and face the music.”

Have his bullies ever tried to contact him?

“Yes, once or twice on the internet, asking for forgiveness, but I don’t bear grudges. What’s done is done.

“I don’t have any regrets. Regrets don’t buy you anything and disappointments are always something you can learn from, because the things you go through in life help you move forward and use as experience.

“But then I have also been very fortunate. I am still loving what I do. It’s a lottery, but you can work really hard to make it work if you fall on your feet.

“That’s part of the charm of the entertainment industry – keeping that feeling fresh.

“I have always had a strong work ethic because I have never felt I had a right to anything in any sphere of my life.

“You have to work for everything. So even though I went to university, I couldn’t get a job afterwards so stacked shelves at Tesco for 10 years, but no-one owed me anything.”

What did he study?

“Philosophy, theology and film studies – the things I was interested in, but when I graduated there was terrible unemployment.”

Surely though, had he kept going, he would have cracked the music industry eventually?

“Absolutely not. I had completely given up on a musical career until things happened on the show.”

And yet, there Paul was on stage, emerging from a lifetime of anonymity to claim his rightful crown. So has he got used to it yet?

“Going on stage still scares me as much as ever.

“It’s always like bungee jumping or skydiving, a massive adrenaline rush and as frightening and as scary every time. But playing iconic venues such as Sydney Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, and The Brandenburg Gate in front of 1.5 million people were the best, although I tend to take each day as it comes. That’s always been my way.”

As for his upcoming concert in Oxford, Paul says it gets harder and harder to choose which songs to sing.

“If I sang everything I’d ever recorded it would be a seven-hour concert,” he chuckles.

“So we rotate things and make sure we have new pieces mixed in with the old to see how well they go down with an audience.”

As for Oxford, Paul wants to check out the rivers and colleges. He is a keen photographer and has lots of cameras. “I’ve been watching Lewis and Morse so I know where to go,” he laughs.

So if you see a man wandering through the streets snapping away, you might just be in the presence of a legend.

But don’t disturb him, he’s a busy man!

SEE HIM
Paul Potts plays the New Theatre, George Street, Oxford, on Wednesdeay, October 28.
Call 08448 713020 or www.atgtickets.com/oxford