Britain’s Got Talent’s knife-throwing act Andrei Gomonov is proving a health and safety nightmare in rehearsals
KNIFE thrower Andrei Gomonov wowed Simon Cowell during his Britain’s Got Talent audition – mainly by using the judge as his guinea pig.
But Simon is likely to be less impressed that the Belarusian is throwing tonight’s semi-final into disarray.
That is because Andrei has ramped up the performance for this crucial stage and it is proving to be a health and safety nightmare.
Paramedics will be on the side of the stage for the act, which will see Andrei hurl red-hot knives through a swinging pendulum at his assistant Daria Sheremet.
Worse still, I understand the routine keeps going wrong, which will have organisers of the live show on the brink of a nervous breakdown.
Andrei gripped the BGT judges and audience on his audition by launching knives at Simon and missing him by inches.
The knife-thrower said: “It was more dangerous because I didn’t know what Simon would do. I know my partner. She knows not to be scared and not to move.
“But I didn’t know if Simon might move.”
When asked about the new death-defying stunt, he added: “The way of preparation was very difficult. But during the preparation, we complied with everything necessary for safety and therefore everything was fine. Small bruises, abrasions and scratches do not count!”
I doubt the BGT boss will be quite so willing to take part this time.
Foxy’s war on trauma
JASON Fox will be seen bravely returning to Afghanistan tomorrow night in Channel 4 documentary The Final Mission: Foxy’s War.
After fighting the Taliban there nearly a decade ago, The SAS: Who Dares Wins hero suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
It is a cause he has campaigned for ever since, but Jason wants the term scrapped as he claims the word “disorder” is negative and brands people.
He said: “I don’t think it is a disorder – it’s just a normal thing to happen to an individual.
“Change the name and people’s attitudes change and I think that’s something that should happen.”
People do not necessarily suffer from the trauma forever, but Jason says he experienced first hand how ex-sufferers like himself can become permanently associated with the condition when he made his last Channel 4 documentary, Inside The Real Narcos.
He said: “Everyone was like, ‘Obviously you’re going out to Peru, Colombia and Mexico and it’s going to be pretty horrendous. We’d like you to talk to someone.’
“And I was like: “For f****’s sake, you’ve just f*****g branded me. Have you asked any of the other crew?”
I wouldn’t ask man-mountain Foxy to do anything he didn’t want to do.
Soapbox
Yasmeen and Geoff have a mare in Coronation Street when they find Heracles the horse grazing on their grass.
Furious, they confront Sally during her dinner party.
And the snobby host is found out when Jacqui and Julian ask to see the “prize-winning” old nag.
In Emmerdale, Graham gives Megan a blank cheque as she struggles to raise money for legal fees.
When Frank arrives she’s unsure how to explain. But this will be the least of her worries when Kim finds out.
Elsewhere in Hollyoaks, Sally’s in for it when Ste and Stuart confront her at school about the Prevent assembly.
Joel nurses a leg injury, which rules out a swift escape when he bumps into ex-fiancée Cleo and her new boyfriend Mitchell in hospital.
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Must Watch
WHAT? The Virtues, Channel 4, 9pm.
WHY? The latest episode of the gritty drama sees Joseph, played by Stephen Graham, break into his boarded-up care home in a bid to come to terms with his traumatic past.