Cleckheaton’s Got Talent: Father and daughter duo could be coming to a TV screen near you

Joseph Petcher, 47, and his daughter, Daisy, have been approached by the award-winning ITV show ahead of the new series which is due to air next year.

The duo have been wowing social media users with their wonderfully quirky singing, dancing and ukulele-playing routines since 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown.

But for support worker Joseph, the approach ahead of the auditions has come as “a total shock.”

He said: “They came to me which was a total shock. I did my homework and discovered that it was legit and they were actually wanting me. I tried to put them off a bit and said I wasn’t sure if it was something I wanted to do.

“The guy then phoned me up and he managed to talk me round. He said that confident kids are something that they were really looking for and there aren’t so many out there, so they were keen from the start. They have been watching me on social media. We do a lot of adlib and spur of the moment stuff and it’s that kind of chemistry that comes across. I think that was the kind of thing they were looking for.

“I have submitted the next tape now so it is a little bit of a waiting game. But it’s not about the winning for us, it’s about being on the tele and being popular in our local community. Whenever we go shopping there’s always someone saying, “I’ve been watching your videos!”

“I don’t know what it would be like on a bigger scale. On a smaller scale it’s great. We just love putting smiles on people’s faces, that is what we are about.”

On performing with fearless five-year-old Daisy, Joseph, who teaches the ukulele at Cleckheaton Library, said: “Our performances started during lockdown. It started off with doing happy birthday messages for people and then people started making other song suggestions and it grew from there.

“Ever since she was born music has been around her. She is really quick at picking things up.

“We did the Christmas lights switch on in Heckmondwike and Cleckheaton and she has no fear of being on the big stage. All she was bothered about was whether she could go on the rides!

“It’s me that gets nervous, she’s fine. I’m concentrating on what I have to do as well as what she’s doing. She has got no fears whatsoever.

“But she’s going to get older at some point and not want to do it! So I guess we’ll enjoy it while we can.”

Joseph’s partner of 22 years, and Daisy’s mum, Aniko, is chief of the wardrobe department and she may yet be called upon should the duo succeed with a television audition.

Asked if Big D and Little D - their stage name - had any ideas for the show, Joseph revealed: “Let’s just say we like a bit of comedy thrown in there. If I had to compare us to anyone, I would say we are Laurel and Hardy.

“A lot of people watch stuff with their sound down and it still comes across as quite amusing.”