| Jake Pratt | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 September 1996 |
| Origin | Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | Comedy |
| Occupations | Singer, actor, comedian |
| Years active | 2007 — present |
Jake Pratt, also known as Jakey P (born 25 September 1996 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England) is a English teen actor and comedian. He entered the public eye when he appeared on the first series of the ITV1 television show Britain's Got Talent in June 2007 where he reached the semi-finals, where he lost out in a place in the grand final.[1] He has since appeared in a British children's television programme and also worked as a voice over artist. He stars as Olly in the BBC comedy film Nativity, which was released on 27 November 2009.[2]
Pratt is also appearing as a stage actor and is appearing in the West End show Billy Elliot The Musical, where he is playing the role of Michael.[3][3][4][5] He began the role on 1 June 2009 and he is currently playing the role.
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Pratt was born on 25 September 1996 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. He has been attending the Sylvia Young Theatre School since his appearance on Britain's Got Talent.[2] He previously attended YMCA Scarborough, and the Scarborough Dance Centre.[6][7]
He has also won the Park Resorts National Finals for the 11 and Under Section for three years in a row.[8]
Before Britain's Got Talent, Pratt appeared at BBC Radio York's stand-up comedy event, More Front Than Scarborough, on 11 March 2007. He impressed the judges with his jokes but ended up coming in second place, to Karen Tite.[8]
Pratt has also appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show.[8]
Pratt, at the age of 10, was a contestant on the first series of the ITV television talent show Britain's Got Talent.[9]
In his audition, which took place at the Manchester auditions at the Apollo Theatre in March 2007, and was televised on 9 June 2007,[10] he performed a stand-up comedy routine and at the end sang a part of the song Life is a Cabaret by Liza Minnelli. His performance received positive comments from all three judges, from Morgan's "You've got brilliant, distinctive comic timing", to Holden's "You're a real star in the making, real showman, great confidence, you were fantastic", with the exception of Simon Cowell, saying "I think you're funnier than Peter Kay", but said that the singing was terrible but the comedy was fantastic.[11] He was placed into the next round, after receiving three yeses from the judges. However, on the day the judges were to choose the 24 semi-finalists for the live semi-finals, on May 10, 2007, at first the judges decided not to put Pratt through. The following day, the judges changed their minds after they realised they made a mistake, and decided to put Pratt and a beatboxing group called Crew 82, the two acts they previously rejected, through to the live semi-finals.
In the live semi-final, on 15 June 2007, he performed again a stand-up comedy routine, and sang the chorus of There's No Business Like Show Business, where this time Cowell buzzed. He told Pratt he should have stuck to telling jokes, so did Amanda Holden, who said he should "ditch" the singing at the end, but Piers Morgan decided that he should carry on singing. Simon asked him why he sang, and he replied "'Cos the producers said I should'". Simon considered firing the producer, but instead gave him a "done" to finish off. He also said that if he made it to the final, he would improve the singing. He failed to get through to the final and was eliminated from the competition.
Pratt has also performed at the fair in Braeburn House, an old people's home in Moor Lane, Eastfield, alongside Bessie Cursons, who reached the final of the talent show, but lost to Paul Potts.[12] Pratt also entered a talent show called Beeon.tv at the end of 2007. He did a variety of talents; Poetry, singing, jokes etc. Pratt appeared on Lori Kellett's fundraising show Lori's One Night Only at the Spa Theatre on 24 June 2007.[13]
Pratt's first major acting role was as nature reporter Jay in the CBeebies television series Green Balloon Club about the environment. In this show all the presenting children are giving names related to the subjects they present. Pratt presents items about birds. The show began in June 2008 and finished in May 2009. Pratt also sang several songs for the show, along with the cast.[2][14][15] In the summer of 2008, Pratt worked on a film called Nativity alongside Martin Freeman, and Extras and Ugly Betty actress, Ashley Jensen, playing the role of Olly. It was released on 27 November 2009.[2]
Pratt has also been commended by the mayor of Scarborough, Janet Jefferson, for his success on Britain's Got Talent.[16] He has also been appearing in cabaret shows organised by his theatre school.[2] He has also opened the mayor of Scarborough's summer fair in 2007, with Sir Jimmy Savile. Money raised went towards local charities.[17]
Jake Pratt also provided the voices of several cartoon characters. He voices Wibbly Pig in a cartoon based on the books by Mick Inkpen on Cbeebies where he is the narrator, which started on September 7, 2009. For the cartoon Claude, broadcast on the channel Playhouse Disney, he provided the voice for grizzly bear Boris. And in the Cartoon Network show Gumball he voices the fish Darwin.[2]
The Scarborough Evening News on 5 June 2009 reported that Pratt had joined the cast of Billy Elliot The Musical. On 1 June 2009 he made his West End debut, taking the role of Billy's best friend, Michael. Pratt did a comic performance for his audition, which got him the role of Michael.[3][4][5] He moved into the Billy Elliot house, along with the other youngsters who play the lead roles in the musical.
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2009 | Nativity! | Alfie | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007 | Britain's Got Talent | Himself | Contestant |
| 2009 | Wibbly Pig | Wibbly Pig | Narrator, Voice |
| Green Balloon Club | Jay | ||
| Claude | Boris | Voice | |
| Gumball | Darwin | Voice | |
| Stage | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2009 | Billy Elliot The Musical | Michael | In role 1 June 2009 — present |
Pratt currently lives in Ickenham, London (previously Scarborough) with his mum Johanne, dad and sisters Ellie-Jo, 10, and Tilly, 3, whom also made an appearance on Pratt's show Green Balloon Club on 20 February 2009.[18]
He currently attends Sylvia Young Theatre School, which he has been attending ever since his appearance on Britain's Got Talent in 2007.[19]
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  | Scarborough's got talent - Scarborough's got talent |
| | CBeebies to broadcast eco season - CBeebies prepares season of programming for environment campaign | Media | guardian.co.uk |
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