Q&A with Jade Kilduff, Sign Along With Us

Britain's Got Talent hosts Ant & Dec heralded 19-year-old Jade Kilduff as an 'incredible young lady' after her group Sign Along With Us finished second in this year's competition.

The Rochdale teenager, who recently received the prestigious British Citizen Award, first started the Sign Along With Us classes after being told her brother Christian might never be able to communicate. Thankfully, Christian defied the odds and joined Jade and many others on stage for an uplifting performance of This Is Us in their BGT audition earlier this year and again in the final for a rendition of The Climb, branded by judge David Walliams as 'magical'.

Style caught up with Jade to discuss her incredible achievement, making Britain smile during a tough year and what's next for her and Sign Along With Us...

Style: Congratulations on finishing second on Britain's Got Talent! How did it feel?

Jade: Oh, coming second was just something that we never expected. When they announced that we were in the top three it was just like ‘oh my god is this actually real?!’. It was so exciting! It just meant so much to us all.

When did you first start Sign Along With Us and how did Rochdale Youth Choir become involved?

I first started the sessions about 18 months ago at the local community centre. Then we wanted to get a choir involved and Rochdale Youth Choir were really into it, so they joined our group.

How would you describe the group?

We are a group filled with so many different people (aged 4-58) that come together to make just the most inclusive, lovely group. I could talk for days about how kind everybody is! It’s one of those groups where you can feel free to be yourself without judgement. It showcases all of the amazing people who have overcome difficulties and challenges in their life but now have been able to stand proud and say "This Is Me!!".

What was your favourite moment of the competition?

Obviously coming second place! And the Golden Buzzer moment! And after the final, when we got back to the hotel, some of the rest of the group who were in London were in the lobby singing and signing This Is Me. So that was a special moment. After that, Damien [O’Brien], Steve [Royle] and Jon [Courtenay] arrived back, so whenever an act arrived back we were chanting their names, singing and celebrating them – because it’s been such a tough year for all of us and a Britain’s Got Talent like no other.

Did Christian enjoy his BGT experience?

He loved it. He keeps saying “they’ve got talent please!” and he loves watching the BGT video clips of the whole group.

Sign Along With Us at the end of their first BGT audition

You first learnt sign language to help Christian communicate - how has it changed his life?

Oh it’s changed it entirely. He’s so much happier all the time now. He can tell us what he likes and dislikes. It’s also helped him to develop in so many other areas - his walking, his movement. He can even say some words too. He is just a miracle.

What was it like performing with the Covid restrictions?

It was really weird performing differently due to Covid. Obviously it was more important that everyone was safe, but it was weird not having all the signers there - some had to film at home and were on the screen behind us. And then we were looking out at an audience who were also at home on a screen. It was very strange but it was amazing that technology allowed us to still be able to do it.

Who was your favourite judge?

It’s really hard because all the judges have been so lovely about our group. Obviously, David [Walliams] gave us the golden buzzer so he made our dreams come true in that way. And also Alesha [Dixon] - we were chatting to her for ages and she knows a bit of sign and was really understanding of Christian.

You’ve got a huge fanbase now - how can people continue to support you?

We’re hoping to do some shows as our group - we’re in the middle of trying to set that up. And people can keep up to date on our social media (Facebook/Twitter @signalongwithus and Instagram @sign_along_with_us) and our website (www.signalongwithus.co.uk). We’d just love everyone to follow and support us.

People might recognise you from your role on Channel 4’s Shameless when you were younger; do you still enjoy acting?

Yes, I played Thalia in the final series from 2012-2013. It’s my dream to be an actor. That’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was young. I’ve just joined a new acting agency so I’m getting back into it now.

If the acting doesn’t work out, which is also a likely thing because you never know, I’m studying to be an Special Educational Needs Primary School Teacher. Even if I was an actress, I’d still volunteer at SEN Primary Schools. So, my dream is to be an actress and be able to volunteers at places like that and then I have the best of both worlds!

Are you still continuing your Sign Along With Us classes? Will you be accepting new members?

At the minute it’s all online due to Covid restrictions but once everything relaxes we’ll look at how to make it work. We’d love to get as many members as possible – loads of people have been interested in joining! Obviously we can’t have a choir of 5000 trying to fit on a stage but we would love to inspire people to set up some other groups.

How would you encourage people to learn sign?

Look online for BSL or Makaton courses near them. If they wanted to learn signsupported English (SSE) which is what me, Christian and the group do, they could find online pages like ours to watch and help you learn. If you’re really interested in it, I think you’ll find it quite easy. It is a full language though, but that’s why we do it to music with our group, so it’s a fun way to learn. If more people learnt it, it would help Christian and other people like him not to feel isolated and be able to communicate with more people.

You brought so much energy and positivity to BGT, despite a difficult year, and definitely made viewers smile…

I hope so! Obviously we didn’t audition for Britain’s Got Talent knowing that Covid would happen. But I feel that our group was a lovely thing to get us through it. It really helped us all and hopefully it helped people at home too.

Ruth Parkinson

Jade & Christian with the rest of their family, who are also members of Sign Along With Us