Dance group wins Telford's Got Talent

The dance group, Blackout, scraped the victory and £500 prize at a sold out event at The Place in Oakengates last night.

It was a battle of the dance groups as Full Out came in second place, with solo-singer Joe Oladunni coming in third with a heartfelt ballad in memory of his mother.

With more than 200 people turning out for the semi-final, about 600 people attended the final to see who would be 2019's Telford's Got Talent winner before attending an over 18s after party.

With former EastEnders actor Ricky Norwood and Telford & Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies on the judging panel voting for Full Out, last year's event winners, Intrigue, used their position on the panel to vote for Blackout, which combined with previous scores took the decision to a tiebreaker vote by the audience, who crowned Blackout as the overall winners.

Other finalists involved were the Telford Community Steel Band, Bethany Stokes, The Final Calling, Grace Clarke, Isobel Parker, StarSome, Louisa Warburton, Macey O'Neil, Paris Smith and Ryan Allen.

Organiser Shaquille Dennis-Miller said this year's event saw the best of the best showcase an array of talent.

He said: "It's great to be able to see local people displaying such a wide range of talent all in one place and on the same stage.

"It was another sold out event which was fantastic and we've had superb feedback so far.

"Even though it's a competition, everybody is really supportive and all of those talented people that didn't win can be proud they made it to the final."

He added: "I'm happy to say it ran really smoothly, with the audience voting for their personal top four, before the judges narrowed it down from there.

"But after the two dance groups were level, the audience cast one final vote which made for dramatic scenes and named Blackout as winners.

"We'd like to thank everyone for coming and taking part to help in making another incredible event which we're bringing back next year 100 per cent."

Blackout dance group will now go on to perform at a number of events throughout the year, including the Christmas lights switch on event at Telford Shopping Centre and various carnivals.