Excitement hung in the air of the Telford Shopping Centre boss’s office as three youngsters waited with anticipation to meet two Britain’s Got Talent stars.
Maia Allen-Preston, aged eight from Hadley, Leona Perry, aged eight from Arleston, and Lewis Jones, aged 10 from Wellington, were Telford Journal Competition winners who were given exclusive backstage tickets to meet Stavros Flately.
Sarah Allen, Maia’s Mum, nominated her daughter to thank her for all the help and strength she gave the family when her nan fell ill before passing away this year.
Leona Perry was nominated by her mum as a thank you for all her help in the family after her baby brother was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, called Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita – which causes joint stiffness, including clubbed hands and feet, and a lack of muscle growth which has left him with a disability.
Lewis Jones caught the judges’ attention by dressing up as one of the Stavros Flatley pair.
After much anticipation Dimitri and Lagi Demetrious entered the room to meet the youngsters.
The pair were friendly and humorous and looked genuinely pleased to meet their young fans.
Their warmth eased the youngsters’ shyness and they were soon chatting and handing out signatures not just for the winners but also for their friends and family.
The two performers were taken with one of our competition winners, Lewis, who had dressed up as them for the evening.
The stars dubbed him ‘Mini Stavros’ and they invited him up on stage to take part in the performance.
Lewis said he had the time of his life.
The father and son duo said they were happy to be in Telford and had visited the area once before.
“It is lovely,” said Dimitri. “We came here a little while ago and we went to Ironbridge and I bought some book ends.”
Lagi said: “Telford is nice. We went to Ironbridge and I wanted to go fishing.”
The pair, known for their love of Cyprus, have been travelling the country for festive activities and so I asked how they planned to spend their Christmas this year.
“For Christmas we have invited everyone to our house to turn on the lights,” Dimitri joked. “No, we are going to have a quiet Christmas, nothing special, watch some TV.
“We do invite as many people as we can. If we could barbecue on Christmas day we would do it.”
Lagi said: “I am looking forward to Christmas.”
The pair rose to fame when they entered ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent as a comedy dance pair. They wowed both audiences and television judges before becoming well-known stars.
The pair seemed genuinely surprised to be so well received and said they couldn’t believe their luck.
Dimitri said: “To be honest, not in a million years did I think I would be here.
“It was something we fell into, it was a joke.
“I can’t explain how much fun it is, just last week we were sitting next to Trevor McDonald and Jim Davidson.
“Nobody said to us this is going to happen to you. It has knocked our whole world upside down and sideways in a good way.”
Dimitri owns an electrical company and said he will probably go back to it when the Stavros hype dies down.
He said: “We are going to make the most of every minute for however long it lasts.”
During the evening the pair revealed to the room of competition winners that they were already rehearsing for a new routine and had new costumes too.
But they said it was all top secret and wouldn’t divulge any more information.
After media interviews the pair dashed off to prepare for their performance and the competition winners were whisked off to a special front stage area to watch the events.
They were entertained by singers from Telford Stage School, Beacon Radio stars, characters from Oakengates Theatre @ The Place’s Pantomime Snow White and former X-Factor star Niki Evans.
At around 6pm everyone, including the Telford Journal winners, crammed on stage to press the TNT shaped button to turn on the lights.
After a countdown the lights flickered on to a round of applause.
Stavros then moved on to Waterstones in Telford Shopping Centre to continue book signings.
This was one Christmas three Telford youngsters would never forget.
