East Hampshire woman sees gold as Hawkstone Farmers Choir wow Britain's Got Talent

An East Hampshire woman is buzzing after striking gold on Britain’s Got Talent with the Hawkstone Farmers Choir.

Horndean woman Gwen Woodruffe was one of the singing farmers that wowed an audience of millions last night with a moving performance of the Elbow classic, One Day Like This.

Amanda Holden immediately pressed the golden buzzer after their rendition on the flagship ITV show brought the judge – and a watching Jeremy Clarkson – to tears.

Gwen, who is married to a farmer and is heavily involved in the Petersfield Young Farmers, auditioned for the choir at the Birmingham Hippodrome last October after previously singing in several Hawkstone adverts.

They believe the song’s soaring refrain and message of hope serve as “powerful tribute to the resilience and spirit of the farming community”.

They also hope to raise awareness of mental health and suicide prevention in the agricultural sector, with members pledging to make significant donations to related charities should they win the competition.

It’s been a whirlwind 24 hours for Gwen as she relived the “surreal experience” with her choir-mates last night in Oxfordshire. The agricultural educator and community leader from Butser Ancient Farm and Horndean Technology College has been blown away with the response from equally moved friends and viewers.

“I had to keep pinching myself that this was really happening,” she said about her experience on the BGT stage in front of judges and an audience of 1,500.

She added: “I just wanted to thank you all so much for all your incredible support and lovely messages – my phone has blown up!

“We genuinely sung from our hearts and we’re so proud to represent our farming community. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster.

The golden buzzer means the choir will go straight through to the live rounds of the annual competition.