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'Britain's Got Talent' Judges Wowed By Disabled Comedian Lee Ripley

'Britain's Got Talent' Judges Wowed By Disabled Comedian Lee Ripley

The 'Lost Voice Guy' had the audience in the palm of his hand

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A comedian with cerebral palsy had the whole audience on their feet with his set on last night's edition of Britain's Got Talent.

Lee Ridley, 37, describes himself as 'a struggling stand-up comedian who always struggles to stand up'. He is also known as 'The Lost Voice Guy'.

He is unable to speak after developing his illness as a six-month-old baby, but communicates through an iPad and the app Proloquo2Go. It obviously hasn't held him back or dampened his sense of humour as he had the crowd rolling in the aisles and won himself a standing ovation.

More importantly, he made it through, and there are reports that Simon Cowell already wants to get him signed up.

After getting hold of the right technology he realised that it was an opportunity for him to store up jokes and funny observations and skits and hasn't looked back since then.

He's been working the comedy circuit for six years now.

ITV

He told the Mirror: "I do a lot of disabled jokes because I have 37 years' worth of material. But I don't see myself as pushing boundaries. I'm just a bloke talking about his own life.

"Cerebral palsy is just a pain in the bum. It's affected my life in many ways - the most obvious thing is that I can't speak because of it.

"It's affected me in other ways as well. For example, I walk like a zombie out of The Walking Dead."

It's not all fun and games though - obviously. The Newcastle-born comic still struggles with certain things that most people take for granted.

He continued: "Things I can't do for myself such as making a cup of tea or tying my own laces,

"It's frustrating at times."

ITV

His life changed forever after getting hold of the iPad, but he still needed a shove from a mate to encourage him to take the plunge and get on stage.

He added: "I'd not considered it before seeing what the iPad could do. It made me realise I could follow my dream to make people laugh.

"Most things can be joked about if handled right.

"But I'd like more disabled comics at clubs, festivals and on TV. The public need to see disabled people can con­­tribute a lot - and have a sense of humour."

Since he got started his career has gone from strength to strength and he has even performed as support act to fellow Geordie funny man Ross Noble recently.

However, there is still ground to be made up with regards to venue access - he says: "Most are in basements or above pubs, so there's always a million stairs. It's a miracle I survived this long."

BGT judge Amanda Holden was clearly impressed. She said his set did "what comedy is supposed to - make us laugh and feel uncomfortable."

Fair play to him.

Featured Image Credit: ITV

Topics: Britain's Got Talent, UK Entertainment, ITV, Simon Cowell, BGT