Judge Amanda Holden had a tearful reunion with the midwife who saved her life on Britain’s Got Talent thanks to the talent of English magician Richard Jones. Before the drama went down, Richard began by telling how his life as a magician started, by doing a card trick with his friend and then demonstrated the same trick with Amanda.
He weaved several tricks and the story together, before asking Amanda to name someone who went above and beyond for her when she needed it most. Amanda then named Pippa Nightingale, saying “she delivered my baby and saved my life.” At that point the plot thickened, as you can see in the clip below, which has been viewed 1.4 million times.
Richard then revealed a card with Pippa’s name on it, shocking Amanda. The big reveal then came when Richard made Pippa ‘appear’ inside a glass panel onstage, leading to a tearful reunion between the two women, who hugged onstage while the judges and audience sat in amazement, before clapping and cheering.
Judge Alesha Dixon was clearly emotionally affected by the beautiful story that just played out, saying “Richard you are by far one of the finest winners we ever had on Britain’s Got Talent. You are fantastic my friend. The storytelling, the heart, how much this means to you. I’m proud of you.” As Alesha stated, Richard has been on the show before and you can see his hit audition in the video below.
English comedy legend David Walliams praised Richard’s work as well, saying “I love you Richard. You’re just getting better and better and better. You draw us in and then do something utterly extraordinary. It was the perfect mixture of being an incredible trick and being incredibly emotional as well. I take my hat off to you.”
Amanda naturally had glowing words for Richard, saying “I don’t know how you did that. She’s an extraordinary person and you’re an extraordinary magician. It’s the emotional pull, it’s the story – it’s everything that goes with you that makes magic believable and real. It was amazing.”
The judges were absolutely correct to single out Richard’s storytelling as remarkable, as he used the section to highlight the importance of appreciating the special people in your life, reiterating the theme with his closing words: “[On Britain’s Got Talent] so many people went out of their way to help me and every time I come back I feel that love straight away.”
The section was filmed as part of Britain’s Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician, which was a holiday special aired last December that showcased 10 magicians from Got Talent shows around the world. Richard’s history with the show goes back a lot further than that, as he debuted on the tenth series of Britain’s Got Talent and eventually won the entire 2016 season.
Viewers may also recognise Richard from his appearance on ITV’s The Chase the same year as well as his appearance on Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions in 2019, where he finished in second place behind the Canadian illusionist Darcy Oake. If you would like to see more from Richard Jones, you can follow him on Instagram. You can also visit his official website for more information.