Judge Ged adds ‘Spice’ to TV talent show All Together Now

Ged Thompson (58) had sung with Chorus UK for just three years when BBC producers dropped in on the group.

They were seeking singers to appear on All Together Now — as some of the show’s 100 critics.

Around 30 members were auditioned and Ged, of Poucher Street in Kimberworth, got the part.

He will appear alongside the show’s co-hosts Geri Horner — formerly Geri Halliwell, or Ginger Spice — and comedian Rob Beckett.

Six episodes were filmed in just seven days and will air weekly, starting on Saturday.

Ged said: “When the producers arrived, I said I wasn’t really bothered. But I did the audition and ended up getting on the pilot episode.

“After that, I got an email saying they wanted me to be on the show.

“I don’t even watch The Voice or The X-Factor or anything like that.”

The upcoming show will see contestants sing for a £50,000 prize in front of the 100-strong panel.

If the judges like what they hear, they join in with the hopeful as an impromptu backing group.

The contestant who gets the most judges on their feet progresses to the next round.

“It was an incredible experience,” said Ged. “The standard of the contestants’ performances was very high.

I remember look around at one point, wondering just what I was doing there.

“I had to take a week off work and we did long hours, filming things again and again.

“But the BBC put us up in a hotel, fed and watered us, treated us like kings and queens. It still seems so surreal.

“Geri was lovely too, I couldn’t fault her at all. You’d think she would just say hello and move on, but she sat down and had a good chat.”

Ged has stayed tight-lipped about the show’s winners and losers — despite constant questions from everyone he knows.

“There are some big, strong personalities among the contestants,” he said.

“As soon as people see it, they’ll be asking me what happened to him or her.

“But a lot of people have put a lot of work into the show and it would be a shame to spoil it.”

TV is a new high for the health and safety man at Cranswick Convenience Foods, Wombwell, who has been busy in recent years.

“I’ve never done anything like this before and it happened completely by accident,” said Ged.

“Clearly, life begins at 50 because the last five years have been fantastic.

“I’ve written two books which are selling well, joined a choir, performed at Sheffield’s City Hall and now I’ve been on TV.

“I never dreamed that I would do anything like this.”

All Together Now begins on BBC One at 7.15pm on Saturday, January 27.