Britain’s Got Talent star who performed in the final alongside David Walliams dies at the age of 51 – as tributes pour in
Britain’s Got Talent star Will Read has died at the age of 51.
The musician died on August 7 at his home in Macclesfield, surrounded by his friend and brother, after a battle with cancer.
Will performed in the 2012 final of the ITV show, alongside judge David Walliams, as part of comedy act The Showbears.
The group stole the show with their shiny sailor suits, David also wore one when he entered the stage in the final.
Read later joined Gloria Estefan’s band on her 2013 European tour, which included Belgium and Switzerland.
Britain’s Got Talent star Will Read (pictured second from right) has died aged 51 after competing on the ITV show with comedy musical act The Showbears in 2012
The musician died on August 7 at his home in Macclesfield, with his friend and brother at his side, after a battle with cancer.
Will’s friends shared their tributes to him on Facebook, including the following poses: Sleep well Will, what a beautiful person you were.’
Another said: ‘What a wonderful friend and a lovely character. You will be missed. Rest in peace my friend.’
The singer’s obituary read: ‘Will, aged 51 and from Macclesfield, passed away peacefully on Wednesday 7th August 2024.
‘Beloved son of Kate, much loved brother of Tom, beloved brother-in-law of Marianne and wonderful uncle of Jimmy and Liam.
‘Will was a talented musician who excelled in percussion, drums and vocals.
‘He toured with Gloria Estefan and traveled the world as a musical director in his successful career.
‘He will be greatly missed by his entire family, many friends and colleagues.’
The Showbears were knocked out in the second semi-final on BGT, but made a sensational comeback in the final when David took to the stage.
Will performed in the 2012 final of the ITV show, alongside judge David Walliams, as part of comedy act The Showbears.
The hilarious performance left judges Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Simon Cowell ringing their red buzzers en masse.
David left Britain’s Got Talent in 2022, two weeks after he was caught calling an older contestant a “c***” during a break in filming.
He was also caught belittling a female contestant, describing her as ‘a bit of a boring girl you meet in the pub and think you want to fuck her, but you don’t’.
Comedian Clare Harrison McCartney later claimed the comments were about her, calling Walliams a “sad misogynist”, but the producers denied the comments were aimed at her.
Bruno Tonioli later took over his duties as a judge on the talent show and signed a lucrative deal.
After his comments were made public, David filed a lawsuit against BGT’s production company Fremantle.
The former Little Britain star is said to have claimed in court documents that producers “recorded, transcribed and saved” all of his conversations during his decade-long run and that he had no idea his microphone was “on and recording” the entire day of filming.
In November, David agreed to a settlement that was ‘well below’ the £10 million he was seeking. MailOnline understands at the time that the figure was well below £5 million.
Fremantle were forced to acknowledge that their security procedures had failed, allowing Walliams’ comments to be leaked to the Guardian, and a settlement was agreed.
Sources indicate that many of his other arguments ‘failed’, resulting in a relatively modest settlement equivalent to about a year’s salary – roughly £1 million.