The Ruby Red Performers are an amateur burlesque dancing troupe from the English seaside town of
Withernsea
Withernsea is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its white inland lighthouse, rising around above Hull Road, now houses a museum to 1950s actress Kay Kendall, wh ...
, near Hull.
Biography
In April 2015, twelve members of the Ruby Red Performers appeared on
series 9
The ninth series of the children's television series '' Hi-5'' aired between 11 June 2007 and 10 August 2007 on the Nine Network
Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial ...
of the primetime ITV variety show ''
Britain's Got Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...
''. They attended an audition held in the
Lowry Theatre
Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex opened ...
in MediaCity Salford where they performed a routine dressed as 1950s cleaning women dancing to
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
's "
I Want to Break Free
"I Want to Break Free" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by their bassist John Deacon. It appears on the album '' The Works'' (1984), and was released in three versions: album, single and extended. The track became a staple of t ...
". Early on into their routine,
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
pressed his buzzer to indicate that he did not like the act, but shortly afterwards there was a tempo change in the routine and the women stripped down to large pairs of underwear, much to the delight of the audience and judges.
After their performance, Cowell admitted that he had pressed his buzzer too early and suggested that the British Royal Family might like to see the act perform. They were given four 'yes' votes by the panel, allowing them to progress in the competition.
On 25 May 2015, The Ruby Red Performers performed live in the first semi final along with eight other acts but came in last place in the public vote, therefore not advancing to the final. The group began their routine dressed as
lollipop ladies before stripping down to black underwear and exploding bras.
Their routine received favourable comments from the judges but they were criticised for their physical appearance on Twitter by columnist
Katie Hopkins
Katie Olivia Hopkins (born 13 February 1975) is an English media personality, far-right political commentator, and former columnist and businesswoman. She was a contestant on the third series of the reality show ''The Apprentice'' in 2007; f ...
and former
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...
dancer
James Jordan, with these comments being picked up by the national press. Jordan described the Ruby Reds as "fat old birds" whilst Hopkins, who is known for her outspoken vitriolic comments, said their act was about women "being confident about their bodies and eating pork pies". The group responded by tweeting a photograph of them all on the bus back to Withernsea eating pork pies.
The group progressed to the semi-final, but did not reach the final of the competition.
Other appearances
On 13 April 2015, following their debut performance on ''Britain's Got Talent'', two members of the group gave their first television interview to
Amanda Holden
Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...
and
Phillip Schofield
Phillip Bryan Schofield ( ; born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter. He began his career as a Children's BBC continuity announcer from 1985 to 1987, and went on to present a wide range of high-profile programmes for the BBC and ...
on the live daytime magazine show ''
This Morning This Morning may refer to:
* ''This Morning'' (TV programme), a British daytime television programme
* ''This Morning'' (radio program), a Canadian radio show which aired from 1997 to 2002
* ''CBS This Morning'', an American morning show, succes ...
''. The group's leader, who goes by the name of Ruby, presented Holden with a pair of the nipple tassels worn by the ladies during their routine and Holden tried them out live on air.
The group have continued to perform after their departure from ''Britain's Got Talent''.
References
External links
The Ruby Red Performers Official TwitterThe Ruby Red Performers Britain's Got Talent Audition PerformanceThe Ruby Red Performers Britain's Got Talent Semi Final Performance
{{Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent contestants