Interview: Alex's giant leap to world title and a TV triumph

As leader of the acrobatic gymnast troupe Spelbound, his life changed earlier in 2010 when the group won ITV's Britain's Got Talent.

Just three months later, Alex and three team mates were crowned world champions and he then appeared in front of 60,000 people at the

Help for Heroes concert alongside the likes of Katherine Jenkins.

Yesterday, their first DVD went on sale and tomorrow night he and his 12 Spelbound friends will meet the Queen when they perform at the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium.

"It has been a crazy year," says 25-year-old Alex. "It has been the best year of my life."

Alex's success is made even sweeter by the fact that six years ago the gymnast from Halifax faced the end of his career when he was paralysed by mysterious illness.

When you see him flying through the air and holding up his colleagues at the centre of a human pyramid it is hard to imagine this fit and healthy young man being too weak to move.

"I didn't even know if I would walk again, let alone fulfill my dream of becoming world champion."

What Alex thought was flu turned out to be Guillan-Barre syndome – an inflammartory illness affecting the nervous system that afflicts about one in 100,000 people in the UK every year.

It often causes rapid development of paralysis starting in the legs and spreading to other muscles around the body.

For an athlete like Alex, who had been competing regularly since he was eight years old and had represented the UK and Yorkshire, it was a terrible blow.

"At first no one knew what was wrong with me, I was just paralysed. I had test after test after test and saw 21 different doctors.

"I had to be pushed around in a wheelchair. I was so scared. I went from gymnastic training five days a week to not being able to feed myself. Doctors put me on a drip and I just had to hope for the best."

At one point he was in intensive care as the syndrome started to affect his breathing.

Alex added: "The worst thing was, I didn't know how long it was going to last. It could have been two weeks or two years. In the end I was in hospital for two weeks and after that I had to have physio."

When he was finally discharged from Calderdale Hospital he was a shadow of the champion gymnast he had been before his illness. He had lost nearly two stone and all of his core strength, vital for an acrobatic gymnast.

"I knew it would take a lot of positive thinking as well as intensive physio and training to get me back in shape.

"The thing that kept me going was my belief that I would one day be world champion."

It took nearly a year of hard work and determination for Alex to regain his old strength, "Luckily I was strong because of all the gymnastics, and I recovered quickly and this year all that hard work and the support I have had from family and friends has paid off."

Alex took up gymnastics aged eight after watching the 1992 Olympic Games.

"I told my parents that was what I wanted to do."

So when the chance came at school to take up gymnastics Alex jumped at the chance, despite being one of only a handful of boys to do the sport at Calderdale School of Gymnastics.

He started out doing the more traditional Olympic-style gymnastics and was immediatley spotted as having a particular talent.

Then at the age of 14, after suffering problems with his wrists he changed to the more flamboyant acrobatic gymnastics at Carnegie in Leeds and then joined Wakefield Gymnastics Club.

"I really liked acrobatic gymnastics. You are working in partnership rather than as an individual. You do a lot of balancing and throwing each other about."

Alex would like to see the acrobatic form of gymnastics taken more seriously and that is one of the reasons Spelbound was formed.

"In 2007 I was approached by a coach from Spelthorne Gymnastics Club to see if I would consider moving down South and joining his club.

"They were the best in the country and although it was hard to leave my home and family in Yorkshire I decided to go." Alex, his coach and other members of Spelbound have since moved to Heathrow Gynmastics Club.

The main aim was to concentrate on gaining the World Championship title he craved, but Alex and his colleagues at the club became increasingly frustrated with the lack of awareness and profile their sport was getting.

"We'd all seen Britain's Got Talent and we thought if we formed a troupe and entered we might end up with one appearance on television and that would really help raise the profile of acrobatic gymnastics. We had no idea that the reponse would be so amazing. Because we did what we did five or six days a week we didn't think it was that special, but it seemed to blow people away."

When Spelbound, made up of seven boys, including former fellow Wakefield Gymnastics Club member Nick Illingworth, and six girls, appeared on the ITV talent show this spring they could not have predicted the reaction. Judge Amanda Holden described the group's performance as "faultless", while Piers Morgan talked about "this thrilling conclusion that had this whole theatre going crazy".

Simon Cowell said that voters were "absolutely right" to choose Spelbound as winners.

"We were all so amazed to win," says Alex.

Spelbound's high energy act involves the 13-strong troupe carrying out a series of death-defying stunts which leave the audience almost unable to watch.

"It isn't that dangerous, because we practise and practice. Safety is paramount."

The group practise for up to 23 hours a week, involving three-hour long gym sessions.

"Winning was a recognition of all that hard work," says Alex.

Although they were all bowled over to win Britain's Got Talent they were all determined to continue taking part in competitions.

"When we were on the Britain's Got Talent tour in the summer we would get up while everyone else was still in bed and train.

"The day after the tour finished I flew out with Adam Buckingham, Adam McAssey and Jonathan Stranks to take part in the World Championships in Poland and we won.

"That was the most amazing feeling. I had eventually achieved my dream."

Once crowned world champion Alex decided to retire from competitions to become a coach and to concentrate on Spelbound.

"I suppose I could have continued competing

until I was 35, but I love coaching and it is what I

want to do."

He has also been busy putting together the Spelbound DVD, which came out yesterday and also with taking part in the Help for Heroes Concert

"Performing in front of 60,000 people alongside Katherine Jenkins was out

of this world and just something you can never imagne happening to you."

When we spoke he was just heading off for a rehearsal at the London Palladium for tomorrow night's Royal Variety Performance.

Appearing at the Royal Variety Performance alongside the likes of Take That and Cheryl Cole, is part of the prize for winning Britain's Got Talent.

"We have been working with our own choreographer and also with someone from Strictly Come Dancing to create something extra special for this once in a lifetime opportunity."

The Royal Variety Performance will be broadcast on BBC1 on Thursday, December 16, at 8pm.

Acrobatic Gymnastics

Acrobatic Gymnastics could be described as a fusion of choreography and complex acrobatic skills performed in partnership on a standard gymnastics floor area.

Balance, tempo and combined routines are performed to music. The floor area is 12x12 metres and the duration of the routines is two minutes 30 seconds. Gymnasts work in harmony and trust, each responsible for their partner or partners.

Routines impose on gymnasts a need for strength, agility, flexibility, balance and acrobatic skills.