80 Year-Old Salsa Dancer Wows Judges, Draws Controversy On Britain's Got Talent

Via the Guardian:

It felt like another Susan Boyle moment, in the opening episode of the new series of Britain's Got Talent, when a 79-year-old grandmother suddenly revealed herself to be an extraordinary salsa dancer. But the shock on the faces of Simon Cowell and his fellow judges on the ITV talent show as Sarah "Paddy" Jones was thrown into the air by her Spanish dance partner Nico Espinosa, some 40 years her junior, may not be shared by everyone. Unlike Boyle, who was propelled from obscurity to international stardom when she sang I Dreamed a Dream in front of Cowell in 2009, Jones is already a talent show winner and Guinness World Record holder. Jones, from Stourbridge in the West Midlands, won Spanish talent show Tu Si Que Vales five years ago and went on to appear on This Morning and the Paul O'Grady Show, both on ITV. She later gained a place in the Guinness World Records in 2010 as the world's "oldest acrobatic salsa dancer". The producers of Britain's Got Talent defended her inclusion, saying anyone can apply to be on the show and none of the judging panel, including Cowell, knew that Jones had previously won a TV contest.

(Tipped by JMG reader Homer)