Chaponda’s BGT finals perfomance censored

For most fans, the giggles of yet another exhilarating season of Britain’s Got Talent (BGT) are over.

As like with most episodes, history was made in 2017 version as Malawi’s stand-up comedian, Daliso Chaponda finished third in the reality show.

His journey on BGT took off to a grand start as he was awarded the prestigious golden buzzer by judge Amanda Holden, after tonnes of laughter Daliso threw at the audience during his audition.

The funny man impressed all four judges, but it was Amanda he really caught the eye of.

“Thanks again for the buzzer,” the comedian has repeatedly said.

One of the features that stood out during his stay on the reality show was how he combined his African roots with his experiences of living in the west especially Britain. Those encounters were a ground he stood firm and created hilarious jokes routine featuring for themes from financial crisis, love and Brexit.

His main goal for auditioning for BGT was to make people laugh. But did he manage to fully achieve that?

“Yes,” affirmatively said the comedian in an interview.

Fear never crossed his mind when he resolved to audition for the one of the biggest reality shows in the world.

“Not at all.  I am funny and as long as I was in front of an audience, I could just focus on making them laugh,” explained Daliso.

He has been working on the comedy circuit for a while. However, finishing third is a prize on its own for the comedian because BGT has given him a platform to unlock other doors.

“I feel amazing.  It’s been a fulfilling ride.  Being in the top 3 in a competition which started with thousands of talented people around the UK has been brilliant.

“I did not lose.  I was in the top 3 of a globally broadcast world competition. 

One Direction were finalists.  Susan Boyle was a finalist. Every single person who made it to the top 12 will have a career that moves on from strength to strength,” he explained.

Daliso has been performing since 2001 in Canada and has toured the world, appearing at various comedy events and clubs. Recently, he also had a guest spot on popular BBC Radio 4 satire programme The Now Show.

With that, some Malawian fans argued BGT platform is meant for up-and-coming artists and not the stand-up comedian’s calibre. But he believes the show will turn comedy into his full-fledged career.

“These people have no idea what they are talking about because they see me on a few posters and think that is success.

I was getting paid a few hundred pounds a night to perform in comedy clubs for 200 people most weeks.  An established successful artist in comedy is a Kevin Hart, a Dave Chapelle, a Micheal McIntyre who can fill arenas, release DVDs, appear in movies, host TV shows.  It is a whole other level.

“BGT is not for amateurs. Most of the top 20 have already been performing for years.  It’s about getting to that next level where your audience grows from a few thousand fans to millions worldwide.

In the UK alone, 20 million people have seen me perform.  I am recognised on the streets everywhere,” he explained.

The comedian’s performances often left fans of the show open-mouthed.

On Britain’s Got Talent, he went the extra mile with his hilarious skits by having a bit more controversial routines.

“I heard the British talking about the financial crisis, the

recession. I am from Africa, what are you maniacs talking about? If that’s a crisis, where is Unicef?

“It will be a financial crisis when there are ads on television saying, this chav has to walk five miles a day to get a bottle of WKD Blue,” he quipped during his audition.

While this and all other jokes were reciprocated with cackles, some fans were left astounded with his weird sense of humour.

The comedian has so much up the sleeves such that his BGT final routine was censored. The show’s producers cut three of his material as it was rude.

“However, it turns out that his material could be a lot worse. After his routine in the BGT final, Daliso revealed that some of his material was so rude that ITV wouldn’t allow him to perform it!

“Asked by Dec how it felt to be playing the same stage two nights running and having to find new material, Daliso said: ‘It was nuts getting approval. You think I’m crossing the line? There were a lot of jokes they were like ‘You cannot say that. ITV will be sued.

The funny man, subtly confirmed the news: “BGT is a family friendly show aired at 8pm.  Even the slightly controversial jokes I did shocked a lot of people. 

I was not complaining, I was whetting the appetite of the viewing audience who have now been signing up to my mailing list and appearing at all of my shows to hear the ‘jokes that got cut’.  I’m not a fool.  I know how to advertise.”

Often but not always cracking jokes based on true life events, Daliso is on the road, whipping more jokes in Britain as he continues with his comedy journey by turning another page of his career.

“I have more gigs now and I am of course much busier than before and doing bigger stages. I will begin a UK tour probably late this year or early next year.  Since I have had lots and lots of children excited about me I am going to have matinees before the big evening show so that they can attend,” he said.

As for a Malawi show, he said, “Everything is in the planning stage.

My new agency know Africa is a market with huge potential and are keeping that in mind.  I focus on writing jokes, they will focus on selling them, booking tours among others.”