Sign language champions ‘Sign Along With Us’ to appear in Britain's Got Talent semi-final tonight

Local sign language champions ‘Sign Along With Us’ need your votes after making the Britain’s Got Talent semi-final – which will be shown tonight (Saturday 19 September).

Jade and Christian Kilduff, of Heywood, who started the group in 2019, were joined back in April by other local children and adults, backed by the Rochdale Music Service Youth Choir, for an emotional rendition of ‘This Is Me’ from The Greatest Showman.

They impressed the judges so much that their performance was David Walliams' golden buzzer – guaranteeing a place in the semi-finals which are being held virtually.

Performances were filmed earlier this month, and will be aired on ITV at 8pm Saturday 19 September.

Due to coronavirus restrictions, the full group of 70 won’t be on stage – but Jade, Christian and 14 singers will performing on stage, joined by the rest of the signers via a big screen.

Speaking earlier this month, Jade, 19, said: “We are super sad that the whole 70 members of the group couldn’t come to be on stage because of Covid. This is not how we planned the semis would be, but we are going to give it our all.

“We want to do this for everyone out there who has ever been told they couldn’t do something or couldn’t achieve something, whether that’s because of disability, age, gender, race etc. Push those barriers aside and everyone can shine.

“Every single member of our Sign Along With Us group are incredible and we want to show the world how incredibly beautiful inclusion can be.”

Determined to improve the lives of those with disabilities, Jade, of Heywood, set up the group ‘Sign Along With Us’ in January 2019, a daily sign-of-the-day video page which has become an internet sensation, teaching Makaton which she uses to communicate with Christian, five, who has cerebral palsy.

Makaton signs are based on the gestures used in BSL, but it is used in conjunction with speech and in English grammatical word order.

Over 100,000 children and adults use Makaton symbols and signs, either as their main method of communication, or as a way to support speech.

Councillor Kieran Heakin, cabinet member for children’s services, has shown his support for the group and their success.

He said: “This is a wonderful success story for our borough. It’s a fabulous achievement to have got to these semi-finals. Their performances put such a smile on everyone’s faces and we all need more of that right now.

“We all wish them the best of luck and I want everyone across the borough voting for them over the weekend so we can get them to the finals and bring the title home.”

Vote for Sign Along With Us

Watch their performance - and show your support with a vote - to help to get them to the final.  

You'll be able to vote from when the show airs on 19 September until 10am on Monday 21 September.

Voting is free and easy – just download the BGT app.