BRITAIN’S Got Talent semi-finalist Emma Jones has tragically died at the age of 32.
The singer, who appeared on the 2015 series, died after being diagnosed with cancer.
The star wowed the judges during her audition, winning them over with her performance of Ave Maria by Andrea Bocelli.
On Emma’s Facebook page, her family and loved ones shared a message announcing she had passed away.
The message read: “I’m sorry to have to tell you that Emma Jones has died. She died on Valentines Day after being diagnosed with multiple organ cancer. The doctor thinks it began as ovarian cancer and spread to other organs.”
Emma was just 23 when she appeared before the judges, but nonetheless stood out among the thousands of auditionees.
David Walliams encouraged the naturally shy singer, telling her: “You should be confident Emma. Very few of us could ever sing like that.”
Amanda Holden told her it was “one of the most beautiful auditions she had seen all day.”
Emma would later discuss in her video tape ahead of a performance that she lived on her own and hated it, and had struggled with her self-esteem her entire life.
She also declared her first audition “nerve-wracking” as she made it through to the final.
“I couldn’t believe I got a standing ovation,” she added. “It was the best day in my whole, entire life.”
Moving through to the semi-final, she performed Sarah Brightman’s Pie Jesu.
What are the signs of ovarian cancer?
Ovarian cancers affects the ovaries – the organs that store the eggs needed to make babies.
It mostly affects women over the age of 50 and can sometimes run in families, according to the NHS.
Symptoms of the cancer can be vague, particularly in its early stages, Cancer Research UK SAYS.
The charity advises you speak to a GP if you have the following symptoms:
- Feeling full quickly
- Loss of appetite
- Pain in your abdomen or lower part of your abdomen that doesn’t go away
- Bloating or an increase in the size of your abdomen
- Needing to wee more often
- Tiredness that is unexplained
- Weight loss that is unexplained
- Changes in your bowel habit or symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, especially if this starts after the age of 50
The NHS added that bleeding from the vagina after the menopause could be another possible symptom of ovarian cancer.
A memorial was held at Allonby’s Christ Church on May 1, where her former partner, John Hastings, remembered her and her audition on Britain’s Got Talent.
“Like everyone else in Cumbria, I was both proud and touched by her exploits on Britain’s Got Talent, when she overcame her nerves to wow the judges and viewers – the applause made her cry, but I knew these were good tears,” he said.
“It’s a great shame that we will never see her again, but we still have her performances online to cherish and fondly remember her by.”
