Latest news with #FallingDown
Western Telegraph
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Western Telegraph
'Brilliant' Britain's Got Talent for Roch sub-postmaster
Former Roch sub postmaster Tim Brentnall is still buzzing from his Britain's Got Talent experience with Hear our Voice, the joyous choir of people whose lives have all been directly affected by the Horizon scandal, that had the BGT judges and audience on its feet. He was initially reluctant to join when fellow sub postmaster Mark said that he wanted to start a singing group. (Image: Tim Brentnall) 'He approached a few of us at a BBC event and suggested that we do something nice together,' said Tim. 'We got on a group of people but only was each other at enquiries or events to do with the negative past. 'At that point I said anything but singing.' However, encouraged by his partner Steph, he went to the first rehearsals and began to enjoy the experience. By this point the choir had enlisted Will and the People who had offered them access to their back catalogue of songs and joined to give the choir support. The choir practised online right up until the day before the Britain's Got Talent audition in Blackpool's Winter Gardens, when they all sang together in the same room for the first time. 'I remember saying. We will either be able to do it in an hour's time or we will be able to do it,' said Tim. 'It was terrifying. When you stand out in practice in a 5,000 seat theatre, I was thinking 'what have I got myself into', said Tim. 'But you are standing there with people who have supported each other through the worst times. "We wanted to stand together and show how strong we are. The desire to get out there was much stronger than the fear.' (Image: Britain's Got Talent/ ITV) All the judges loved their performance and chose them for the semi-finals. The reaction at the semi finals was just as positive with the judges praising the joyful and unifying performance and the public vote sending them through to the finals. 'To get the public vote to win the semi final was so heartening,' said Tim. 'It showed that people still care about our story. It was brilliant. 'We never expected to reach the finals. We were happy to keep our story alive.' The story continues to be kept alive with the release yesterday, Saturday, June 7, of Falling Down, a collaboration between Will and the People and Hear our Voice. The track has been released across all streaming platforms and a physical copy will also be available to buy. All money raised will support Lost Chances, a charity for the children of sub postmasters and the Horizon Shortfall Fund charity. (Image: Britain's Got Talent/ ITV) 'We set up the choir with three objectives; to keep our story in the public eye, to give people in the choir something joyful in a safe, therapeutic environment and to raise some money for the two sub post masters' charities.' So far the single has had a very positive reception with airtime on BBC Radio 2 and Radio Wales. 'For me being in the choir has been brilliant,' said Tim. 'I'm still in a complicated battle with the Post Office which is almost totally consuming of my energy and time. 'This has been a really good distraction. "When I've got a song to learn or a practice it's very mindful. A good way away from the negative things. 'We've got to know each other much better and support each other really well. You've always got these people you can reach out to when you need a pick up. "It's been really good like that.' To stream Falling Down by Will and the People and Hear our Voice, go to linked above.
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Post Office choir founder says 'therapuetic' BGT stint was 'life changing'
Mark Wildblood, the founder of Hear Our Voice - the choir made up of people impacted by the Post Office scandal - says the initiative has been 'therapeutic' after a battle with depression. Hear Our Voice, the choir made up of people affected by the Post Office scandal which placed seventh in the recent series of Britain's Got Talent, are releasing a new charity single alongside band Will & The People. The single, Falling Down, is a rendition of the song they performed in their audition for Britain's Got Talent. And choir founder Mark Wildblood says the initiative has been 'life changing' for him, admitting the talent show stint has made a significant impact on his mental health. 'I personally have found it very therapeutic,' said Mark. 'I was on antidepressants prescribed by my doctor for a long long time and I spoke to them very early this year and I said, 'Look [the choir] is really starting to make me feel good and I wouldn't mind trying to go without [the antidepressants]. "So, at the recommendation of doctors I was told it's ok to give it a go and I haven't been back on them since,' he says of the choir's impact. Continuing that it has given him 'purpose' following dark days, Mark shared, 'It's not difficult to get caught up in dwelling on all of the negatives. So, to be surrounded by the same people that you talk to about it every day and that are seeing the positives as well, I think we've done a really really positive thing and a lot of that is thanks to BGT.' While Mark says the choir has meant he's managed to let go of 'anger' he was holding onto against the post office, he confirms that the 'concern' remains. 'My concern for the procedure is not eliminated. We still have to make sure that we get closure and closure can only come with compensation.' Mark was a sub-postmaster at Upton Post Office before he was suspended from the role as one of the thousands of people impacted by the Post Office scandal. The scandal saw the wrongful prosecution of sub-postmasters and postmistresses by the Post Office, who accused them of theft, fraud, and false accounting due to faulty data from the Horizon IT system used by the company. He founded the choir in May 2024, inviting others impacted by the scandal to take part and raise money for the cause, alongside awareness. As the former tour manager for Will and the People, Mark then enlisted lead singer Will Rendle to get involved as he fronted the act on Britain's Got Talent. And detailing how the choir has become a family dynamic, Mark said, 'W e always say to each other that we have become family now. The choir is spread out throughout the country and so BGT has given us the opportunity to actually meet five times in a very short space of time and be together.' Many of the victims are still awaiting compensation from the Post Office, with Mark admitting that despite the success of their campaigning and the recent TV series; Mr Bates vs The Post Office, there's still a long way to go. It comes as Simon Recaldin, a Post Office boss who has been backing compensation for the scandal victims, has left his position in the company. Simon is thought to have opted for voluntary redundancy, a move which comes amid the increased pressure on the company to pay victims. Previously, the government announced that those who have had convictions overturned are eligible for £600,000, with hundreds still waiting for the compensation. 'Scandals like these have a commonality where the bureaucracy of closure takes so long that many people pass away by the time that the situations are resolved - I just hope that we don't get into that situation,' says Mark of those yet to be paid. 'We've already lost a lot of people in the Post Office scandal and we can't afford to lose more without getting a speed up, so I would say to those in power, please change the system. It'll be better for everyone all round and cost a lot less money if they just do it now as it should be,' pleaded Mark. With fellow choir member Maria Lockwood joking that the unit would be keen to front the Glastonbury stage this summer, Mark says he isn't opposed to the idea. "We wouldn't say no to anything where we had the opportunity to get together in person again and Glastonbury would be amazing, that would be phenomenal." Falling Down, the single by Hear Our Voice choir and Will and The People, is available on all platforms from tomorrow, 10 June. 100% of profits after costs from the single are going to the Horizon Scandal Fund and Lost Chances—two organisations supporting victims and their families.
Scotsman
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Britain' Got Talent 2025 latest odds: The 11 acts most likely to take the talent title
2 . Hear Our Voice - 7/2 Priced at 7/2 are Hear Our Voice, a choir mainly made up of Sub Post Masters directly affected by the Horizon Post Office Scandal. They impressed at their first audition with a performance of 'Falling Down' by Will and the People and have seen their odds tumble in the lasat couple of weeks to become second favourites. | ITV
BBC News
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
BGT Post Office scandal choir still waiting
A postmaster has said a performance by a choir made up of people affected by the Post Office scandal has been crucial in keeping the story Attridge, who has run the post office in Crick, Northamptonshire, for 34 years, performed on Britain's Got Talent as part of the 40-strong Hear Our Voice choir comprising victims of the Horizon IT choir sang Falling Down, a song written and led by Will Rendle of rock group Will and the People, and earned a standing ovation on the ITV show for their emotional Attridge said: "I've had shortages... but nothing to what the majority in that choir have had. They certainly need redress because it has dragged on and on." The Post Office/Horizon IT scandal has been described as the UK's most widespread miscarriage of than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongfully prosecuted for theft and false accounting due to errors in the Post Office's faulty computer 1999 and 2015, the Post Office took 700 cases to court, with other authorities, including the Crown Prosecution Service, prosecuting a further 283 sub-postmasters were imprisoned and financially ruined, but over subsequent years the systemic problems within the IT system and a cover-up by the Post Office came to is an ongoing public Post Office IT Horizon Inquiry. 'The atmosphere was electric' Reflecting on performing in front of 4,500 people in Blackpool, Mr Attridge said: "The atmosphere was electric. It was so emotional as well. It was so uplifting, it was magic, it really was."We'd never rehearsed together until the Saturday night before the Sunday audition. That was the first time we'd all met up together. It was such a lovely atmosphere."The positive comments from [people in Crick] were amazing. The village has been so supportive."The choir is now awaiting news on whether it has progressed to the next round. 'Doing all we can' In a statement, the Post Office said it was "deeply sorry for the suffering caused to so many people by Post Office's past actions".It said it acknowledged that victims of the scandal needed answers, as well as justice and redress."The business failed to put postmasters first, did not listen to postmasters, and did not act on concerns postmasters raised with us," a spokesperson said."We are doing all we can to help get victims answers, including fully co-operating with police investigations to help try to put things right."Fujitsu, which developed the software Horizon, said it offered its deepest apologies to the sub-postmasters and their spokesperson added: "Fujitsu Europe's boss has previously said that the firm has a 'moral obligation' to contribute to compensation for sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted as a result of its faulty IT software." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Post Office choir delivers moving BGT performance
A Worthing singer delivered a moving performance on ITV's Britain's Got Talent alongside a choir made up of people directly affected by the Post Office Horizon scandal. The 40-strong choir, Hear Our Voice, sang a rendition of "Falling Down" written and led by Will Rendle, of Will and the People The performance earned a standing ovation from the audience and the judges on Saturday. One of the choir members, Teju Adedayo, who ran a Post Office in Gillingham, Kent, told BBC Breakfast her voice had been "suppressed for a very long time". In 2006, Ms Adedayo was convicted of false accounting and given a 50-week prison sentence, suspended for two years. Her conviction was overturned in 2021. She told BBC Breakfast that before the performance, she "chickened out" because her "nerves were all over the place" but then decided "let's just do it". She said: I wanted to release the stress that we have all been put under. "I'm grateful we are all standing together." In a statement, the Post Office said it was "deeply sorry for the suffering caused to so many people by Post Office's past actions". It said it acknowledged that victims of the scandal needed answers, as well as justice and redress. A spokesperson said: "The business failed to put postmasters first, did not listen to postmasters, and did not act on concerns postmasters raised with us. "We are doing all we can to help get victims answers, including fully co-operating with police investigations to help try to put things right." Fujitsu Group, which developed the software Horizon, said it offered its deepest apologies to the sub-postmasters and their families. Its spokesperson added: "Fujitsu Europe's boss has previously said that the firm has a 'moral obligation' to contribute to compensation for sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted as a result of its faulty IT software." Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Family fight to clear sub-postmistress's name Sub-postmistress used £10K of savings to pay costs
