Paul Potts: ‘I never have a bodyguard… I can’t stand that’

Paul Potts was chased down the street by two policemen in Korea.
The 45-year-old singer first found fame when he won ITV series Britain’s Got Talent back in 2007. He has gone on to have a hugely successful career, but finds it hilarious when he’s recognised in the most unlikely places.
“I never have a bodyguard anywhere I go – I can’t stand that,” he told Good Morning Britain on Monday (04Apr16). “I prefer to mooch about by myself, with my camera, and to use my wife’s word, get happy snappy with the camera. And I was walking around the centre of Seoul and two policemen were running after me, and they said, ‘Can we have your picture?’ That’s happened a few times!”
Paul’s audition of Nessun Dorma made history as one of the most-watched of all time. However, he admits he felt the performance may have been the last time he ever sang.
“I thought this would be the last time I would ever sing,” he said. “Singing has always been my passion and it still is, nine years on it’s still what drives me. That’s always been the main driver for me – to be able to sing. I didn’t think i had a chance. In fact, I felt that top B (note) at the end, it split a little bit and I was really tight across my shoulders…”
Since winning Britain’s Got Talent, Paul has gone on to perform more than 800 shows over the last nine years. He is about to start working on his fifth album, but insists he hasn’t let his success go to his head.
“I think the most important thing is that it doesn’t change you – you have to be you and you have to be the person that defines your own success,” he said. “I’m often asked in interviews that because I’ve had long-term success, what about people who haven’t had the same levels of success. Well people keep trying to measure themselves against an artificial measure. Measure your own success. If you’re doing what you love and that’s your career, and it doesn’t matter what you do, then you’re successful. If you’re successful being you and that’s what you get to do then you’re successful.”