Britain’s Got Talent Star Stacey Leadbeatter Overcomes Bullying and Rebuilds Her Voice

Stacey Leadbeatter, a golden buzzer recipient on Britain’s Got Talent, has taken the nation by storm with a vocal performance that belies her challenging past. The 29-year-old supermarket worker and mother of one has overcome immense obstacles to find her voice—both literally and figuratively—earning her a place on one of the nation’s most-watched talent shows.

Stacey’s rise to prominence is marked by her remarkable determination in the face of adversity. Many fans may not know that prior to her BGT appearance, she had performed only once. Compounding her challenge was a significant speech impediment, which forced her to retrain her voice. Reflecting on her journey, Stacey confesses, “It is extremely hard”, reported the Daily Record.

Determined to overcome her difficulties, she turned to online resources during the lockdown. “I have a video of me singing from four or five years ago, and you couldn’t actually understand properly what I was singing due to the severity of speech impediments. So during lockdown, I used to sit through like adult speech therapy sessions on YouTube, and then I’d introduced it into my singing.” Her dedication to refining her vocal skills did not come without constant effort. “If I don’t do certain exercises for, say, a couple of weeks at a time, I will start to revert back to how I was,” she explains.

Growing up in Birstall, Leeds, Stacey’s early years were marred by bullying due to her condition. “In high school, I used to stutter a bit and people would mimic me,” she remembers, reports the Mirror. “Children, unfortunately, sometimes can be a bit harsh, and I wasn’t the popular girl at school.” Yet, these experiences only served to strengthen her resolve and fueled her ambition to succeed.

Her breakthrough on Britain’s Got Talent was sparked by her presence on TikTok. “I sing on TikTok, and people said I needed to apply. When the opportunity came up, I thought it was now or never. It’s always been a dream of mine to sing in front of Simon Cowell because I’ve watched him since I was a little girl. I’ve always wanted to impress him.” Once on stage, her performance of Leona Lewis’ rendition of Snow Patrol’s “Run” captivated the audience and judges alike, culminating in guest judge KSI hitting his golden buzzer.

Despite her growing public profile, Stacey remains candid about her shyness. “I don’t sing to them, I’m actually really shy. I just don’t have the confidence. I’ve had people like message me asking me to sing at the weddings and at parties. I just make excuses like I don’t have the right equipment. I overthink about what people think of me. But now I’ve done the scariest thing in the world and I’m working on my confidence. It’s just about retraining your brain. I think the confidence will hopefully come with the Britain’s Got Talent performance.”

Beyond her career revival, 2025 has also been a year of personal triumph. Recently engaged to Richard—an old flame from her teenage years—she recalled, “I’ve known him since I was 17,” and added, “We’ve always been with other people, but had that connection there and never acted on it. And then we both became single last year, and we decided to meet up to see if that connection’s still there, and it clearly is. He proposed to me on his birthday this year in front of his family and his children.” Now planning their nuptials for 2027, Stacey beams with joy, sharing, “He’s the proudest fiance. He’ll listen to me sing all the time, and we love a karaoke night.”

Stacey’s journey, marked by resilience and self-improvement, resonates deeply with many. As she continues to pursue her dream of performing in the West End, she reflects, “If you’d have told 2023 me what’s happening now, I wouldn’t have believed it. I had some personal things going on. I just didn’t deal with them very well and I was in a bad place. Now I’m newly engaged and on BGT. It’s mad.”

With aspirations to simply “be able to sing on a stage in front of people and making people happy with my voice, that’s all I want,” Stacey Leadbeatter stands as an inspiring example of triumph over adversity.