Belinda Williams - soprano

Shani Wallis and Belinda Williams A ripple goes around the backstage area at the Blackpool Winter Gardens, where we are filming for Britain’s Got Talent. One of the runners wanders by, “Someone famous has arrived and everyone is really excited about it, but I don’t know who she is. Have you heard of Shani Wallis?” Heard of her, I grew up watching her every weekend. One of our few videos, our treasured recorded-from-television VHS tape of Oliver!, the 1968 Lionel Bart musical, came out reliably every Saturday morning. It was with the role of Nancy -  the original Eastend girl with a heart and a voice of gold - that Shani Wallis gained a place in the firmament of musical superstars. But she was already in her 30s when that was filmed. I quickly get out my fingers to do the maths, and I realise Shani will be in her 90s now. At 93 years old, Shani is one of the few stars from that golden age of musicals, and here she was walking around the corner with her entourage of adoring nieces. I...