BGT winner had to move back in with his parents after being left penniless after show

A former winner of Britain’s Got Talent has revealed that years after he went on the ITV show he was forced to move back in with his parents. Jai McDowall appeared on the talent contest in 2011 and won over audiences with his impressive skills as a singer.

Reflecting on his time on the show, Jai said: “My experience of BGT was great. Afterwards, for the first year, obviously you get all the work and all the good things. And that’s when it starts to go south.

“I had about eight months and then Sony didn’t renew my one album deal and it’s still quite a difficult thing to deal with. I went from a normal guy who wasn’t in the industry, to then being on the telly. People know your name before you know theirs and it’s such a mindf*** that it’s so hard to deal with.” Try WalesOnline Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features.

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Jai, who is originally from Irvine, Scotland, continued in an exclusive interview with The Sun: “I’ve done OK. Twelve years on I’m still working. But there was definitely a period where it took a dramatic drop. Finances, work, all of that stuff took a very big dive to a point where I did actually think about bankruptcy. I didn’t do it because, thankfully, I’ve got a brilliant support network. But I did get to a point where I was like, ‘Is this it, is this over?’.”

He added: “I signed with a few people in Scotland and made some bad choices, spent loads of money. It came to a point where, on paper, you’re asset rich. But I was cash poor. That was pretty much me. I moved in with my parents at the time. I did have property but I had no money. That took a long time and a lot of grit and determination for me to get back out of that.”

Jai recently spoke to The Mirror, where he recalled standing in the BGT final with Ronan Parke. "I know genuinely it does sound sort of out there but I envisioned the finale of that show and I knew it was going to be me and Ronan. Not going to lie, I thought he was going to win," Jai said. "That way I was like, ‘No, keep positive thoughts and keep going' and genuinely I thought that really helped and it’s one of those things. Life is up and down - it’s a roller coaster and you can’t always be positive all the time. I genuinely feel like if you can keep yourself in a better mental state with that you can - magic happens sometimes."

He was forced to give up his singing career during the coronavirus lockdown. "I genuinely know I couldn’t give singing up because the only time I had to was during Covid and it was terrible, genuinely the closest I’ve ever been to being really, really sad. And I genuinely missed it," Jai admitted.

For his stint on Britain’s Got Talent Jai won £100,000 and a spot at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance. While work started to decline soon after, things seem to now be on the up for Jai. He has joined operatic quartet G4, who released their new album 20 last month, and are currently on tour across the UK. For the latest TV & Showbiz news, sign up to our newsletter.