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LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 23: Dean McCullough attends the British LGBT Awards 2023 at The Brewery on June 23, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Belinda Jiao/Getty Images)© Getty

I'm A Celeb's Dean McCullough's unexpected Britain's Got Talent audition unearthed

Radio 1 presenter Dean McCullough wowed Britain's Got Talent audiences before I'm A Celeb

Edward Lauder
Senior online reporter
November 19, 2024
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Northern Irish radio presenter Dean McCullough has been impressing I'm A Celebrity audiences and making himself feel at home in the jungle. Yet, this isn't the first time that Dean, 32, has entertained ITV viewers.

i'm a celeb contestant in red outfit © ITV
Dean McCullough joined I'm A Celebrity in 2024

Back in 2013, the BBC Radio 1 presenter appeared on Britain's Got Talent, and his impressive dance routine left viewers and the show's judges speechless.

Dean was part of an all-male dance troupe called The Glambassadors, and their routine featured the trio dressed in high heels and see-through outfits, kicking, pirouetting, and dancing all around the stage.

Their routine was certainly something to behold, and judge David Walliams quipped that the performance was "camper than Christmas". The rest of the panel was clearly blown away by The Glambassadors and unanimously put them through to the next round.

The Glambassadors made it all the way to the live semi-finals, and for this very special performance, they took to the stage and danced to a number of big show tunes, including Candyman by Christina Aguilera.

Dean McCullough on Britain's Got Talent in 2013© ITV
Dean McCullough on Britain's Got Talent in 2013

Sadly, both for Dean and the rest of the dance troupe, they didn't make it through to the finals, which meant their dreams of performing at the Royal Variety Show came to an end right there and then.

It was a minor miracle that the dance troupe managed to get as far as they did back in 2013, given the fact that just two weeks before their audition, two of The Glambassadors' dancers left the group. They had accepted jobs in LA, leaving the rest of the group on the verge of splitting up.

Dean McCullough© Tracey Welch / BBC
Dean McCullough's Britain's Got Talent past has been revealed

Dean revealed that they managed to find two other friends to replace them, leaving them with only two weeks to rehearse before their big audition on Britain's Got Talent.

Dean said: "We formed because we all knew each other through working in dance, but a week before the auditions, we lost two guys who got jobs in LA. So we found two other friends, and we had one rehearsal before we got to the stage."

Dean ended up becoming The Glambassadors' leader, and he had to choreograph the entire routine from scratch with the new members, which was no easy feat.

Dean McCullough opened up about his time on Britain's Got Talent© John Phillips
Dean McCullough opened up about his time on Britain's Got Talent

The Radio 1 presenter revealed: "I choreographed the dance, so I was under pressure to get it sorted. We were winging it, but I think because of the pressure we were under, it all came together. Now I have made friends for life; we have all been on this journey together. None of us have ever done anything like this before."

Dean has been incredibly sincere and open since appearing on I'm A Celebrity. For instance, earlier this year, Dean revealed that he faced homelessness both as a child with his family and as a young adult.

He shared: "We weren't living on the street, we were living on my aunt's house on a sofa. I was moving between houses on a regular basis."

Dean McCullough spoke about his tough past experiencing homelessness© Dave Benett
Dean McCullough spoke about his tough past experiencing homelessness

Dean went on to speak about the tough times he faced with after his parents' separation, revealing that he and his family had no fixed address for a year. Dean added that he spent years couch surfing when he first came to London in order to pursue his dream of starring on the West End.

Dean revealed: "I have problems with my possessions and feeling like I need to take care of absolutely everything around me. That comes down to moving from house to house and not ever feeling like anything was ever truly mine."

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