The Lewisham-born comedian and BGT finalist who got Alesha's golden buzzer

Yahoo

25-05-2025

A Lewisham-born comedian has made it to the final of Britain's Got Talent after leaving the judges and the audience in stitches with his performance last weekend.
Joseph Charm returned to the BGT stage on Sunday (May 18) in front of judges Bruno Tonioli, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, and Simon Cowell for the live semi-finals.
The 32-year-old won the hearts of the audience and judges at his audition with his relatable rant about being a parent.
Joseph returned to the stage after running past the audience and greeting the theatre.
He told the audience: 'This is one of the biggest nights of my life.
'We are going to break records tonight.'
He went on to say he'd waited a 'LONGGG time for this moment', which became a recurring joke for the rest of the performance.
In his audition, he explained how he quit his job to pursue his dream as a comedian.
He joked: 'In a short space of time, I've grown a huge following, and an even bigger overdraft.
'I didn't sign up for that.
'But then, everybody, I did the greatest thing anyone could do as a Brit: I did Britain's Got Talent.'
He admitted that being on Britain's Got Talent has made him more famous and recognisable, though people assume he's Idris Elba.
He added: 'The only thing worse than being famous is being famous and broke.
'I'm trying to be like these guys [the judges] and be rich and famous.
'But it has been incredible.
'I've had cousins from overseas trying to claim me.'
He said cousins from Sierra Leone have gotten in contact with him, telling him that they hadn't spoken to him for 'a LONGGG time', and that they've asked him for money now that he's 'rich and famous'.
He joked that the correct term was that he was 'broke and famous' and if they were waiting for him to send them money, they would be waiting 'a LONGGG time'.
Joseph went on to talk about the struggles of being unemployed during the cost-of-living crisis and humorously pointed out that weekly shopping now costs £200 after three items.
He didn't know where the family holiday would be this year and said that he told his kids that if he won Britain's Got Talent, they'd be going to Jamaica, but if he lost, they'd be going to Jamaica Road in Bermondsey.
Before wrapping up his performance, he shared an anecdote about after his audition, where he called his mother to inform her that he'd gotten through to the semi-finals.
His mum's first question was apparently about if he had met and spoken to Simon Cowell, and if the iconic judge had asked about her.
But he supposedly responded with a running gag from the performance: if his mum was waiting for a call from Simon Cowell, she'd be waiting 'a LONGGG time'.
The judges and the audience were on their feet in applause as Simon Cowell welcomed Joseph's mum on the judging panel and embraced her.
Alesha Dixon, the judge with the power to send a contestant straight to the final with the Golden Buzzer, took Mrs Charm's hand and pressed it down on the buzzer with her own.
Joseph broke into tears of joy as he fell to his knees.
As his performance time came to an end, he told the audience, judges, and viewers at home: 'It has been exactly a year today since I left my job to pursue this dream, so here I am.
'Thank you, God. Thank you, everyone.'
Joseph will return to ITV screens on May 31 for the BGT Live Final.