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George Sampson

For other people named George Sampson, see George Sampson (disambiguation).

George William Sampson (born 29 June 1993) is an English street dancer, television presenter, singer, and actor.[1] He won the second series of Britain's Got Talent on 31 May 2008 at the age of 14.[2] He is an official ambassador of the United Dance Organisation.[3]

George Sampson
Sampson in July 2009
Born (1993-06-29) 29 June 1993 (age 31)
Warrington, Cheshire, England
OccupationDancer • presenter • actor
Years active2007–present

Career

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Britain's Got Talent

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2007 series

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In 2007, dance teacher Dominic Chambers told Sampson that there were auditions in the area that would be right up his alley. He discovered he'd be auditioning for the first series of Britain's Got Talent only when he arrived.[4] In his audition, he danced to "Drop" (Timbaland featuring Magoo & Fatman Scoop), receiving a yes vote from all three judges. However, despite Simon Cowell's enthusiasm, he was unable to convince the other two judges, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan, to let Sampson proceed to the live semi-finals. This experience made Sampson determined to re-audition the following year and prove Holden and Morgan wrong. In the intervening time, he continued dancing on the streets of Manchester to improve his technique, and to raise money for his family.

2008 series

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In 2008, Sampson returned to, and successfully got through the first round of Britain's Got Talent series 2 auditions by dancing to "Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now)". He then came top in the audience's vote in his semi-final with his arrangement of Mint Royale's big beat remix of "Singin' in the Rain", complete with an artificial rain machine on-stage, a formula that had previously been produced in a television advertisement for the Volkswagen Golf GTI.[5] He subsequently won the audience's vote in the final, beating dance duo Signature (second place) and Andrew Johnston (third place). Sampson was due to perform a different routine for the final, to a track by the Bee Gees,[6] which he described as involving "a lot of movement without me actually doing anything".[7] An hour before the final started he changed his mind and, after consulting Simon Cowell, opted to re-perform his winning act from the semi-final.[6]

The Mint Royale version of "Singin' in the Rain" went to number 1 in the UK on download sales alone in the week following Sampson's performance[8] and Cowell's label Syco had several requests for a video.

In an interview the day after the final, George Sampson told of his return to normality the Monday after the event.[9]

After Britain's Got Talent

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On 20 July 2008, Sampson was a guest on stage at the T4 on the Beach music festival at Weston-super-Mare beach teaching presenters Steve Jones and Rick Edwards how to dance.

On 4 August 2008, Sampson made his stage debut in the West End hip-hop musical Into the Hoods. With some exceptions, he appeared in the show until it closed on 30 August. Of his new role, he said: "This year is getting better and better – Into the Hoods show is funky and young and I love the music in it – I can't wait to get dancing on that stage!" Into the Hoods played at the Novello Theatre in London and features music from popular artists such as Gorillaz, Massive Attack, Basement Jaxx and many more. Sampson appeared as one of the lost boys.[10][11]

On 18 November 2008, it was announced that Cowell's record company and Bebo would work together to make an online television show called Follow My Lead, which would include some dance move tutorials by Sampson, but also a behind-the-scenes view of events and rehearsals. They previously worked together to create a similar show with Leon Jackson.[12]

Simon Cowell initially planned to release only dance videos, but he wanted to do more. He asked the agent of Take That if he could get Sampson to sing, but it turned out he already liked to sing from a young age.[4] His debut double a-side single entitled "Get Up on the Dance Floor/Headz Up" was released on 24 November 2008, with the proceeds going to Great Ormond Street Hospital.[13] After an early fault that meant the single couldn't be downloaded from iTunes for two days,[14] the single finally debuted at number 30 in the UK Singles Chart[15] and remained listed for 4 weeks. The single's position in the charts gradually lowered during that time.[16]

On 1 December 2008, his dance DVD Access 2 All Areas was released.[13] The one-hour[citation needed] DVD contains a documentary about his rise to stardom, four music videos in which Sampson sings as well as dances, and a behind-the-scenes look at those videos, dance tutorials and a set of photographs.[17][18][19]

On 23 January 2009, Sampson helped to promote the new Nokia 5800 phone in London's Regent Street. He handed over the first Nokia 5800 sold[20] and performed a live dance routine to "Pump Up The Jam" by Technotronic[21] which he choreographed to go with a touch-sensitive dance floor.[22]

On 29 January, he launched the game Battle Strikers at Toy Fair 09.[23] He also designed a plate for Blue Peter's Mission Nutrition appeal.[24]

On 7 and 14 March, he hosted a 'Street Dance Weekend' at the Alton Towers Resort as part of their new family-themed weekends, alongside street crew Flava. Fans could attend workshops to learn one of his routines and dance alongside him.

On 28 May, Sampson was the guest star at the third Britain's Got Talent semi-final and performed before the results were announced. He also was a guest star in Britain's Got Talent: the Live Tour 2009 and he said that Nottingham was his favourite on 20 June 2009.

On 26 June 2009, Sampson became a Patron of Dance Aid[25] organised by the UK registered charity Hope and Homes for Children.[26][27]

He danced before the Rugby league match between Crusaders and Salford City Reds at Brewery Field on Saturday 11 July from around 5pm. The kick-off for the match was at 6pm. He also danced at half-time. He was also scheduled to make an appearance in Legoland Windsor on 18 July as part of "Legoland Live."[28]

In September 2009, Sampson and Cowell reached an amicable agreement to cease their professional relationship.

Also in September, he starred in the first all-British 3D feature film StreetDance 3D (alongside dance groups Diversity and Flawless), in which he plays a character called Eddie, released May 2010.

On 16 November, Sampson was featured in the CBBC Newsround special Whose Side Are You On? as part of the BBC's anti-bullying campaign. He spoke about how he was bullied when he was younger. Other stars who appeared in the programme were Joe Calzaghe, Aston Merrygold, Patsy Palmer and Gemma Hunt.

On 5 June 2010, he appeared on Star King, a South Korean television show which features a variety of talented performers.[29]

In January 2019, he appeared on the fourth series of Celebrity Coach Trip alongside Roxanne Pallett. In September 2019, Sampson returned to Britain's Got Talent as a contestant in Britain's Got Talent: The Champions. He participated in the 4th semi final but did not receive enough votes to progress to the final.

Acting career

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On 2 February 2011, Sampson joined the cast of the BBC drama series Waterloo Road. His character, a 17-year-old student named Kyle Stack, first appeared in the second half of the sixth series in February 2011.[30]

In 2012 he joined the cast of Mount Pleasant in its second series. He also starred in the feature film StreetDance 2 as Eddie. He has also appeared in Friday Download (series 3, episode 1). Sampson appeared in the Pantomime Peter Pan, as the lead role of Peter Pan, performed in Derby from 5 December until 6 January.[31]

In 2013 Sampson returned to Waterloo Road as now 19-year-old Kyle Stack in episode 30. He was last seen being escorted off the school roof by teacher Simon Lowsley (Richard Mylan) when, after Kyle contemplated jumping off the school roof, long-running character Tom Clarkson (Jason Done) fell to his death trying to talk him out of it. Kyle's fate after these events was never disclosed in the show. Sampson had a minor role in a 28th-season episode of the TV series Casualty. He danced in the documentary The Nation's Favourite Dance Moment, a television film which aired in June. George also starred in a pantomime, as Jack, in Jack and the Beanstalk at The Playhouse Theatre in Weston-super-Mare.

Sampson continued his television career by acting in Season 2, Episode 5 of The Dumping Ground on CBBC in 2014. He acted again in season four of Mount Pleasant but later left the role.

He joined the cast of Emmerdale in January 2016 and made his on screen debut the following month, when he played a character named Ryan Harred who became involved in Aaron Livesy (Danny Miller)'s child sex abuse storyline. He made seven appearances, the last that July.

Sampson appeared as the character Reecey in the 2018 tour of Our House. He has played the role of Dean in Everybody's Talking About Jamie, in the UK tour, the West End, and LA productions.

He has also as of 2024 recently performed in the Easter Panto Tour of Robin Hood with Anton Benson Productions. He also has performed in 9 other pantomimes previously

Works

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Singles

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Date of release Title Label UK chart peaks
24 November 2008[13] Get Up on the Dance Floor/Headz Up Syco Music 30 (UK Singles Chart)[15]

Television

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Programme Role Details Year(s)
Britain's Got Talent Himself Series 1 Contestant
Series 2 Winner 		2007–2008
Basils Swap Shop Himself Played the Dunk Beds game in Series 2 2009
Waterloo Road Kyle Stack Series Regular 2011–12, 2013
Mount Pleasant Gary Series Regular 2012–14
Friday Download Himself Presenter/Host 2013
Casualty Callum Bradey Series 28 Episode 13 2013
The Dumping Ground Danny Series 2 Episode 5 2014
Emmerdale Ryan Harred Recurring Role 2016
Celebrity Coach Trip Himself Contestant 2019
Britain's Got Talent: The Champions Himself Contestant 2019

Theatre

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Year Title Role Theatre Location
2012–13 The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan Peter Pan Assembly Rooms Derby
2013 Jack and the Beanstalk Jack The Playhouse Theatre Weston-super-Mare
2017 Our House Reecey UK National Tour
2019–20 Everybody's Talking About Jamie Dean Paxton Apollo Theatre West End
2021–22 UK National Tour
2022 Ahmanson Theatre Los Angeles
2022-23 Cinderella Prince Charming Prince's Theatre Clacton-on-Sea
2023 Snow White Prince George The Pavilion Theatre Weymouth

And Robin Hood as Robin Hood in an Easter panto tour with Anton Benson productions that started in Northwich Brio

DVDs

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Date of release Title Label UK chart peaks
1 December 2008[13] Access 2 All Areas SonyBMG 1 (BBC Radio 1 Music DVD Chart)[32]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 StreetDance 3D Eddie
2012 StreetDance 2 Eddie

Personal life

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Sampson suffers from a condition called Scheuermann's disease,[33] which affects developing bones in children and teenagers and can cause an abnormal curvature of the spine. "There's no way I'd ever give up dancing. Nothing would stop me," he told the paper.[34] However, since the revelation Sampson said "It's not that bad." and claims that his doctor has said he's allowed to dance.[citation needed].

A fan of the game RuneScape, Sampson was invited to Jagex to record a dance emote for the game.[35]

Awards and prizes

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Sampson won the under-16 category in the United Dance Organisation's 2007 World Street Dance championships. Following his win of Britain's Got Talent, he returned to the 2008 championships at the Blackpool Winter Gardens to give a performance together with his dance group A2AA (Access 2 All Areas) and to accept an award for his contributions to raising the profile of street dance from UDO chairman Simon Dibley.[36][37]

In the summer of 2008 he was one of 11 celebrities to receive an honorary scout badge to celebrate the 101st birthday of the Scouting Movement.[38][39]

He received an award for 'Favourite Winner' at the 2008 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards[40] where he performed his signature dance Singin' in the Rain.[41]

References

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  1. ^ "George Sampson: I'd love girls to go crazy over me". Now Magazine. 20 June 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
  2. ^ "Finalist Profile: George Sampson james cooper sampson". itv.com. Retrieved 24 June 2008.
  3. ^ "Ambassadors". UDO Street Dance. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  4. ^ a b Charlie Lightening (director), Alesandro Reyes-Knight (producer) (2008). George Sampson: Living The Dream (documentary). United Kingdom: ITV2.
  5. ^ Brook, Stephen (27 January 2005). "Blingin' in the Rain". The Guardian. UK4 August 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  6. ^ a b "Song change helped George win show". Daily Star. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
  7. ^ "George is winnin' in the rain". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
  8. ^ Singh, Anita (3 June 2008). "Britain's Got Talent winner George Sampson makes hit of Singin' In The Rain". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  9. ^ "Back to school". itv.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
  10. ^ "George Sampson Makes West End Debut". Into the Hoods. Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  11. ^ Guilfoyle, Lizzie. "Into the Hoods - George Sampson joins cast". indieLondon. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  12. ^ "George Sampson and Bebo launch exclusive online TV series" (Press release). Bebo. 28 November 2008. Archived from the original on 30 May 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  13. ^ a b c d Bryony Gordon (23 November 2008). "George Sampson: a life turned upside down". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 25 November 2008.[dead link]
  14. ^ "Technical Fault & George for Number 1". Sony BMG. 26 November 2008. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2008.
  15. ^ a b "The Killers outsell Guns N' Roses". BBC News Online. 30 November 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  16. ^ "The Official Charts Company: Get Up on the Dance Floor / Headz Up". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  17. ^ "George Sampson: Access 2 All Areas : DVD". Play.com (UK). Retrieved 4 December 2008.
  18. ^ "George Sampson - Access All Areas (DVD)". zavvi UK. Archived from the original on 18 February 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
  19. ^ Pinchess, Chloë (5 December 2008). "Chloë gets caught up in George-mania". This Is Nottingham.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  20. ^ "George Sampson set for phone launch". PA Entertainment. 22 January 2009. Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  21. ^ Holland, James (19 January 2009). "Nokia 5800 bonus content for first buyers". Electric Pig. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  22. ^ Clews, Mary-Louise (27 January 2009). "Nokia launches campaign for touchscreen phone". Marketing Week. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  23. ^ Roberts, Katie (29 January 2009). "TOY FAIR 09: George Sampson launches new toy craze". Toy News Online. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  24. ^ "Dancing star George joins charity plate drive". This is Cheshire. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  25. ^ "Patrons - danceaid – transforming lives through dance". Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  26. ^ [1] Archived 30 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ "Our Patrons - Serving helpless orphaned poor and exploited children all over the world - Hope for Children". hope-for-children.org. Archived from the original on 18 April 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
  28. ^ "Legoland". Legoland. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  29. ^ Agase, Samantha (2020). "All 14 Of The 'Britain's Got Talent' Winners — Where Are They Now? [VIDEO]". Talent Recap. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  30. ^ Love, Ryan (26 January 2011). "Sampson admits 'Waterloo Road' nerves". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  31. ^ Orme, Steve. "The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan". The British Theatre Guide. England. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  32. ^ "Radio 1's Official Chart Show - Top 10 Music DVDs and Videos". BBC Radio 1. 14 December 2008. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  33. ^ "Why Britain's Got Talent star George Sampson was told he may never dance again". 21 September 2019.
  34. ^ "'Talent' champ Sampson has spine condition". Digital Spy. 2 June 2008.
  35. ^ Liam Martin (10 July 2012). "George Sampson records dance moves for 'RuneScape'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  36. ^ "George stars at Blackpool dance show". Blackpool Gazette. 4 August 2008.
  37. ^ "World; For All That's Happening". South Wales Echo. 11 August 2008. p. 20.
  38. ^ Bryant, Tom (1 August 2008). "Scout's honour for Jamie Oliver". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  39. ^ "TV chef Oliver receives Scout badge". Gazette. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 April 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  40. ^ "Just Kidding! - Nickelodeon Awards". OK Magazine. Northern & Shell PLC. 30 September 2008.
  41. ^ "Ant and Dec's triple win". Female First. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
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Preceded by Winner of Britain's Got Talent
2008 		Succeeded by
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