A Britain's Got Talent contestant has opened up about what happened behind the scene after his audition on the hit ITV programme. 

Alfie Joey, who is most famous for formerly fronting the BBC Newcastle Breakfast Show, was part of the ‘The Mimic Men’, a pair of impressionists whose 2016 audition has amassed over three million views on YouTube.

The pair received a standing ovation when they appeared before judges Simon Cowell and David Walliams.

However, former BBC Newcastle breakfast presenter Alfie revealed all is not what it seems – as the pair never actually appeared again.

The Northern Echo: Alfie with PRsonal host Charlotte NicholsAlfie with PRsonal host Charlotte Nichols (Image: PRSONAL)

During an appearance on the PRsonal podcast, Alfie said: “That was it!

“We did it and they said we were going through, but Simon Cowell said ‘I want you guys to do something bigger’ so we went off and rehearsed, but they got us a gig with Ant & Dec – a private corporate gig – which was unbelievable, and every table was full of people on the telly and footballers.

“But what happened was that we went back down, and they said we hadn’t got through.

"We went on (Good Morning Britain with) Piers Morgan and knew that we hadn’t got through – but we were not allowed to say it.”

On the podcast, Alfie revealed to host Charlotte Nichols that he hadn’t even watched the show when producers, who had scouted the pair via their YouTube channel, invited them to London to appear.

The comic, who is now an award-winning communications coach known as the #SpeakEasyGuy, said they were assured that they wouldn’t have to audition and would go straight before the judges.

However, while producers loved their ‘A to Z’ impressions routine, Alfie claims two North East icons were off-limits.

“Because there were two of us, we did Ant and Dec together and we thought if we start an A to Z with Ant and Dec, we are off to a flying start.

“I wrote this A to Z, recorded it and sent it to them so they knew what we were going to do and they said, ‘We like it – but can you not do Ant and Dec’.

The Northern Echo: ‘The Mimic Men’ on Britain's Got Talent‘The Mimic Men’ on Britain's Got Talent (Image: ITV)

“We were literally on the way down on the train practicing it!”

He said that while there is “chaos” at the theatre – with hordes of hopefuls lining up for an audition – parts of the show were more rehearsed, with the whole process incredibly well-drilled.

Once there, the pair were kept waiting for hours to perform and despite having headed down for the day from the North East, they were bumped to the evening show – making the whole experience even more nerve-rattling.

“I was on the radio the next morning, and I was saying to my mate that we were going to miss our train – they said we’d be fine, but they just keep fobbing you off.

“You have given them your phone so you can’t even get in touch with anybody – they sort of seduce you into thinking everything will be OK.”

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After leaving to a standing ovation, Alfie added: “We came off and they asked me to phone my wife – they gave me my phone and I called but she had gone to bed!

“I went ‘We’ve got through’ and she went ‘great’, but she was whispering as the kids had gone to bed.

Then they asked me to do it again and asked her to sound a bit more lively – then they filmed us walking up Tottenham Court Road like a pair of down-and-outs who had won the lottery.

“You have to fit in with their schedule, but they rearrange everything for you. They drive you around London – we were doing Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid – but the show is just a PR monster.”