2 weeks Ago By Chloe Govan
Britain's Got Talent child star Hollie Steel is now a fully fledged adult who's achieved her dream singing career, despite a disastrous live show aged just ten which sparked public fears for her welfare. Vulnerable Hollie had broken down in tears, prompting notoriously nasty judge Simon Cowell to show his softer side and brand her "the bravest girl in the world". Yet now, as she announces her upcoming marriage to pro ice skater Daniil Kiryakov, she couldn't be more different than the young girl who'd choked up under pressure 16 years earlier.
Now an elegant and glamorous woman aged 26, she shows no signs of the crippling anxiety she fell prey to on BGT. She recently shared photos of herself and her beau holding each other as they lean in for a kiss in celebration of their engagement, and a close-up of the pair holding hands, demonstrating her gorgeous diamond ring. Daniil is a skater with the cruise company Royal Caribbean International, but originally hails from the notoriously chilly Russian mountain city of Pevouralski.
Overcome with joy, Hollie wrote on Instagram of their nuptials: "I said yes! Can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives growing together.” The couple's romance is no secret, as Daniil has been featuring on her page for the past two years, but fans were rocked by her shock engagement announcement. Rushing to show support, one wrote: "Congratulations Hollie! I have been watching you since you were a little girl and now this is a huge milestone!” Another gushed: “You deserve all the love in the world!" Her confident demeanour now is a million miles from the one she portrayed at the semi-finals stage of BGT, when she burst into tears and admitted she feared letting others down.
She had been due to perform Edelweiss from the much-loved The Sound of Music, but with an average of 13.3 million viewers per episode tuning in for that series, she began to buckle under the pressure. As a nation saw her dissolve into tears, a stream of Ofcom complaints were made, with some questioning whether ten years old was too young to perform competitively.
Despite her anguished meltdown, she won over the hearts of the judges and the audience, and sailed through to the finals. She ended up coming sixth, with dance troupe Diversity winning the overall series, and Scotswoman Susan Boyle becoming the runner-up. Hollie later revealed she'd been warned by an unknown person backstage: "There are 50 million people watching, don’t mess it up.
” However, she confirmed to the Sun in 2023 that she has coping strategies for her nerves now. "When I get on stage, sometimes I go back to that moment when I'm on TV and I'm about to have a panic attack [but] I've done a lot of therapy and counselling where I'm just like, 'You need to breathe, you need to relax. You're enjoying this.
You're fine,'" she revealed..
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