BBC | The One and Only

From a one-man van driver to The One and Only…runner-up, it has been quite a journey for Anthony Adams, The One and Only…Frank Sinatra. We catch up with him backstage at the grand final for the exclusive, first interview.

Six weeks back you were driving a van for a living. Tonight, you have been crowned one of the greatest tribute acts in the country as The One and Only…runner-up. How are you feeling?
I feel fantastic! It is just great to have got into the final three, well, the final two! But I just can’t believe that I was in front of Lionel Richie. I feel great!

What was the atmosphere in the studio like tonight?
It was fantastic. I got slightly emotional during the show when I realised that I was in the final three. But the crowd really helped me tonight. I had some supporters in, my own rat pack at the back in Frank Sintara costumes, only there were more than three of them, there were about fifteen!

You have had quite a journey on this show. How have you found it?
I came into this contest an amateur and I’m going out of it knowing that I could do this professionally. It has been amazing. But you have to be able to take on board the criticisms each week to get to the next stage. I don’t quite know what happened but I think it is just a case of learning to believe in yourself and having people tell you that you are better than you think you are.

Carrie Grant, one of the vocal coaches, was quite critical of your early performances. Did this make it more difficult for you?
Carrie’s comments really helped me because I could see what she was saying. I was looking here and there all the time but when I watched Frank Sinatra’s performances he didn’t do that. He was the governor of that stage and that was what I wanted to be tonight.

Having come so far in this contest, what is next for you?
I want to take back with me everything I’ve learnt and start myself a career. But I’ll just have to see what is round the corner. I haven’t looked but I’ve a feeling there could be something waiting for me!