Britain’s Got Talent contestant Ella Shaw is hoping Cheryl Fernandez-Versini tunes in to watch tonight’s semi-final – to see how far she has come.

The 18-year-old singer-songwriter blew judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, David Walliams and Alesha Dixon away with her performance of her own song, Summertime, and breezed through to the semi-finals.

A picture of Cheryl Fernandez-Versini on the red carpet
Cheryl Fernandez-Versini sent Ella home from bootcamp (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Wire)

But when Ella auditioned for The X Factor last year, she was sent home by Cheryl during the six chair challenge round at bootcamp.

Ella told The Sun: “I hope Cheryl is watching and supports me. I’m going to show her everything I’ve got and make her proud.

“I thank her for sending me home because I’ve improved so much. Without that knock-back I might not have done that.

“Going on The X Factor prepared me for BGT. It was tough when I was sent home from bootcamp, but it made me work hard.”