Britain's Got Talent judges had to choose their final 45 this weekend, but there was one notable exception from the list of acts who ORIGINALLY got through....
Ryan O'Shaughnessy had wowed the judges during the audition rounds with his ballad No Name, which he sang and played with his guitar, and had endeared himself to the audience by refusing to name the girl for whom he'd written it. In the weeks since he appeared, the Irish lad has chalked up more than 3 million hits on YouTube, but it turned out Simon Cowell wasn't happy to see him again.
For Ryan had committed the ultimate reality TV sin - of signing up to appear on another show, concurrently, something which Simon explained in no uncertain terms wasn't cricket.
"We have a problem, and you know what that is," he told a nervous Ryan. "You're signed to another show… why did you audition and come on this show?"
"I wasn’t allowed to express my own music on the other one," said Ryan.
But Simon wasn't having it. "All you’re doing is taking the place of someone else... We were going to give you a yes, but I can’t. Do you understand that?"
So that was the end of Ryan... or was it? He said afterwards, "I need to get home, get that organised so I get out of that show so I can get back here and do Britain’s Got Talent, because that’s what I want to do."
And guess what - in a cracking last-minute turnaround, it seems Ryan now WILL be able to go to the BGT ball.
He told BGT Online late last night (exclusively, obviously, because they had NO idea before) that he had managed to swing himself out of his other contract - with Voice of Ireland, (the old stomping ground of X Factor's Mary, I believe) and so would be appearing in the semi-finals after all.
Ryan told ITV.com: "I want to thank the Judges for giving me a second chance. The reveal was such an emotional ordeal for me. I was fraught with nerves. I felt as though I’d let Simon down. Simon’s somebody you want to please, so it felt awful to disappoint him."
Big phews all round then.
Acts who did go through to the live semi-finals in a conventional, undramatic fashion included the stunning opera singer Jonathan Antoine and his partner Charlotte (see their stunning performance again HERE), little Malaki - a lot less tearful than last week, and the ever flirtful Chica Latina, the Columbian lovely still hoping for a date with Simon, singing optional.
Live shows start Sunday night on ITV, with the top prize of £500,000 getting a little nearer for some.
The complete final 45...
