Silver spoon in my mouth was pretty rusty says talent show aristocrat

Lady Catherine Anna Brudenell-Bruce, the 27-year-old daughter of the Earl of Cardigan, said she had lost contact with her father and dismissed suggestions she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

“Although I was born into a privileged family, that spoon in my mouth was pretty rusty and not very silver,” she said.

“I don’t live in Downton Abbey, this is the 21st Century. I work in a pub and struggle to pay my electricity bills just like everyone else.”

The singer, who performs under the stage name Bo Bruce on The Voice, is currently dividing her attention between the BBC show and the hospital where her seriously ill mother is fighting cancer.

In a message posted online she told fans “looks are deceiving,” adding: “No matter what our upbringing is, we are all equal; please don’t judge me by my name or a title I have NEVER used. Please don’t think I fit into any stereotype, because I don’t.”

She went on to detail her troubled teenage years when she sought help for a problem with drink and drugs.

“When I went into treatment as a teenager I was in a mess – turning to the wrong things to try and make myself feel better,” she said.

“I was never an addict, I feel so fortunate that I managed to get out of that hole, and I really hope other people can see that there is a way back from despair; Everything passes, nothing is permanent.”

Citing music as her “outlet”, she went on to thank fans for their encouragement and said she was “blown away” by their support.

She finished her message: “Feeling pretty humbled and honoured to even be here. Love, Bo x.”

Meanwhile, Britain’s Got Talent (BGT) musician Analiza Ching, who posed nude with her violin, defended the risqué photo shoot.

“I just wanted to try something different and I really don’t think anyone should be shy about their own body,” she told a Sunday newspaper. “We are all human at the end of the day.”

When it came to the Saturday talent show ratings, the war raged on. Saturday night’s BGT was watched by a peak audience of 11.9 million – 11.3 million excluding the channel’s +1 strand – representing a 47 per cent share of viewing, ITV said.

The Voice’s peak was lower at 10.7 million but the BBC said it had won “by a massive margin” in the 20-minute crossover after 8pm when the two shows go head to head. During this period, The Voice averaged 10 million against 6.2 million for BGT, the corporation said. The 10.7 million figure represents a half million increase on last week’s peak.

The Voice sees singers take part in blind auditions with judges Jessie J, Tom Jones, Will.i.am and Danny O’Donoghue showing their approval for an act by swinging round in their chairs to catch a first glimpse.