ITV Britain's Got Talent Jonathan Antoine's weight loss and life after show as he receives diagnosis

Jonathan Antoine is renowned as one of Britain's Got Talent's most famous contestants.

The popular ITV programme is returning to our screens for the 17th season tonight. Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell and Bruno Tonioli are aiming to find the next big star to perform at the Royal Variety Show.

Jonathan was one of the breakout stars of the show when he finished in second place on season six of the show, which was broadcast 12 years ago. The classical singer was 17 at the time and wowed judges with their rendition of 'The Prayer' at the audition stage, alongside Charlotte Jaconelli.

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Jonathan's powerful voice was singled out for praise by Simon Cowell, who compared him to the legendary Luciano Pavarotti. The singer's performances saw them sail through to the final, but they were beaten to the prize by the dancing dog act Ashleigh and Pudsey.

Simon was amazed by the performance and compared Jonathan to the legendary Luciano Pavarotti Jonathan and Charlotte were eventually beaten in the final by dancing dog act Ashleigh and Pudsey.

The contestant has previously admitted he was devastated to not win the show. He told our sister site, Mirror Online: "I remember the feeling of the organs sinking. I didn't cry on stage.

"You have to then think, with Ashleigh and Pudsey, their mission with animals, they'll probably do more responsible things with that than I ever would. Wonderful people as well. Just remembering everyone that comes above or below you is made of the same stuff. We're all flesh and blood and electricity coursing through them. That's how you stay not depressed."

The second place position appeared to be the start of Jonathan and Charlotte's career as they were signed up to a £1m contract with Simon's record label Syco just days after the show ended. Jonathan and Charlotte released their debut album Together in September 2012 and their second album Perhaps Love in August 2013, but they decided to split in February the following year after being offered solo record deals by Sony Classical.

Simon urged Jonathan to go solo during his stint in Britain's Got Talent and Jonathan explained this was always his goal. He said: "Charlotte raised up my confidence to the level I could go on BGT and we made something beautiful.

"Neither of us had been ensemble artists, we loved solo performances, so it was the natural evolution of the thing. There's only so much a crossover classical duo can actually do without starting to reinvent the whole thing. At the point I had the necessary confidence and understood myself a bit more I felt it was time to make the leap."

Jonathan's solo career has been a success as his debut album, Tenore, reached number one in the Classical Artist Album chart and he began touring in the UK and the US. He is now aged 29 and regularly keeps updates on his Instagram channel.

He took to the social media platform earlier this month on Autism Awareness Day and revealed he was diagnosed with the condition two years ago. He said: "I got my diagnosis in 2022, not long after my 27th birthday, and for a short while fell into it like a daydream. The recontextualisation of a life already lived is a scary thing to reckon with, but those things done are already set - there is no going back from here!

He added: "I still don’t know what exactly I have to contribute to the broader discussion, I’m in the process of finding out what it all means to me in the first place, but perhaps the naiveties of that process are novel enough to write down, so I try regardless

"Much as in our ideological tendencies I would wager that the vast majority of people lie somewhere away from the most extreme ends of a given spectrum, and indeed that those ‘ends’ really blur together in strange and interesting ways and loop back around through hidden channels -though I only have anecdotal evidence backing my opinion. I have met many people who are ‘normal’, but I don’t know that I’ve ever met someone totally ‘neurotypical’.

"Our inner and outer worlds are so vastly different, and by ‘our’ here I mean people in general. We cultivate inner spaces that twist our outer material world and then expect that outer world to conform to our personal interpretations of it. The filter of our perception generates necessary atypicalities, divergences from ‘base reality’. We all get our own little ‘Matrix’ hidden just behind our eyes, and we each see a different tint over the real world. It’s good practice to try and imagine just what kind of lens someone else is viewing the world through. Something to bring yourself closer to others, a little way to love yourself.

"So be kind, look a while through someone else's glasses, and revel in how beautifully different we each are to one another. All my love, as sincerely as it could be given."

Jonathan has also spoken about how he has recently adopted a healthier lifestyle in a bid to lose weight. He added: "I've still got a lot to lose but I'm making my way. I feel stronger and healthier than I have in 10 years, which is a lot. This year I've made an active choice. I've felt I've lacked the discipline a lot.

"When I was out in America it's fast food everywhere. I was in a terrible state in the start of the year and I've been able to claw my way back doing light exercise."

He added: "I'm a very big fella so heavy exercise would just tear me up. I'm working my way up, thinking about what I eat because that is important." Jonathan has been doing 10,000 steps a day, even if it does mean just pacing round the room, and feels he is now actually living his life.

He said: "For a long time I was just experiencing life, letting life live me, trying to find the next pleasure. Taking control of your own life, seizing your world with your hands, is very gratifying."

Britain’s Got Talent is on ITV tonight at 7.30pm

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