Britain’s Got Talent legend Connie Talbot sH๏τ to fame when she was just six years old on the first series of the ITV talent show in 2007.
The singer, who is now 24, impressed Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell with her impressive vocals as she belted out Judy Garland’s Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
Despite being a huge fan favourite, she narrowly missed out on the top spot to singer Paul Potts.
Although she wasn’t crowned winner, Connie has gone on to have an incredible career, releasing five albums, and she is still creating music to this day.
But it hasn’t always been plain sailing for the star, as she recently opened up about being stalked as a young girl on the People Are Deep podcast.
Connie said: ‘It started when I was 13. It is still ongoing to be honest.
I was a child star on Britain’s Got Talent aged 6 – this is the dark side of fame when the cameras stop rolling
The 24-year-old (pictured) sH๏τ to fame when she was just six-years-old on the first series of the ITV talent show in 2007
‘I’d get these messages through my Facebook page, I wasn’t managing it at the time, I was only 13.
‘But I could hear my mum and dad concerned about these constant messages that came through.
It was a guy in Germany, who thought we were in a relationship, these messages went on and on and on, we reported them to the police.
‘They were inappropriate to send to a 13 year old child.
‘But there is nothing that police can really do until they need to do something. He somehow found out my home address, he came from Germany to my house with pepper spray ropes, knives, walkie talkies, he knocked n the door and my brother was there.
‘He sent him on his way, we called the police, they couldn’t find him for days.
‘They look in every H๏τel, they couldn’t find where they were staying, it turned out he was camping in a park close to my house.
‘He left walkie talkies on the door step.
Although she wasn’t crowned winner, Connie – who boasts 313k followers on Instagram – has gone on to have an incredible career, releasing five albums and is still creating music to this day
‘They finally arrested him and he went to prison, he was sentenced for four years in prison in the UK, I think he did two years.’
She later revealed that she came face to face with him while on holiday in Gran Canaria.
The singer explained that she had just appeared on ITV’s Lorraine and the host asked her what she was doing to celebrate, to which she revealed her travels.
Recalling the moment, she said: ‘I just went to use the toilet in McDonalds, I came back out and my boyfriend was hiding from me as a joke, he was going to jump out at me so I sat down at table for two, I thought he was still in the toilet.
‘Instead the guy, who has been stalking me for years, sat in front.
‘I just froze, I couldn’t believe it at first, I was like, okay, this guy is a bit strange.
‘When he said “My name is… do you remember me?” my heart sank and I grabbed my boyfriend’s hand and ran to the taxi rank.
‘I didn’t explain anything. I didn’t want conflict either. I just wanted to get out of the situation.
Connie mentioned that she was travelling to Gran Canaria for her 18th birthday during a live appearance on Lorraine in 2019 – which resulted in the stalker finding her
‘I stayed in the H๏τel room for the next week. Just waited to go home.
‘So there has been some terrifying experiences.
‘I think there’s not enough help to prepare people for this.’
Connie admitted that she was nervous to talk about it incase it gives him ‘anymore to feed on’, but said it ‘it’s been a while now’.
She said that she still doesn’t go anywhere on her own because she ‘feels safe that way’.
‘These are things that people don’t realise happen after,’ Connie said.
‘It comes with incredible experience and the ability to do something you love every day, that’s why I persevered doing it, for the love of music, my pᴀssion.
‘But there is a lot of sacrifice and a lot of change for everyone involved.
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‘We had to move house, we’ve moved houses a lot. My mum kept a baseball bat by her bed for years and years.
‘And moving out of the family house was a mᴀssive deal, my mum and dad had to give up their role of protecting me in their house.
‘It’s hard I feel like I’m ungrateful for the opportunities that I’ve had, but there have been sacrifices and that is how it is.’
After listening to the podcast, fans rushed to the comments section to share the love.
One wrote: ‘Beautiful young lady, inside and out, who deserves the world!’
Another added: ‘Connie, I LOVE YOU forever.’
A third chimed in: ‘CONNIE IS THE BEST.’
Now, 18 years on from Britain’s Got Talent, Connie is still thriving.
The star boasts 313k followers on Instagram and shares covers on her page.
Some of her singles include Three Little Birds, Never Give Up on Us and Growing Pains.
Connie is also supporting Boyce Avenue in May later this year.