HE won Britain’s Got Talent when he was just 14.

But George Sampson still felt like he had something to prove when he got a part in a musical for the first time.

The former Birchwood High student played Reecey in the UK tour of the Olivier Award-winning Our House which features the music of Madness.

Fourteen venues and 104 shows later, George has the theatre bug and despite being synonymous with street dance, musicals are where he sees his future.

He told Weekend: “It was my first musical so it was always going to be a bit nerve wracking to see whether people would accept me doing it. People can be funny about certain people doing certain jobs, especially when reality stars do musicals because there’s such a fine line between whether they can pull it off or not.

“But I massively enjoyed it and the reception I got was unbelievable.

“I think that was helped by the choreography in the show and the fact it was Our House – it was Madness, it was all a bit of fun.

“I hadn’t chucked myself into a Les Mis or one of those types of musicals that I wouldn’t have been suitable for.”

Now George has been shortlisted for best supporting actor in a musical in the prestigious WhatsOnStage Awards.

After a public vote, the winners will be announced on February 25.

George said: “To win it would be absolutely unbelievable but just to be shortlisted, to be invited to the event and to be a part of that industry has been quite special. I’m so happy.”

Previous winners include Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Judi Dench and Daniel Radcliffe.

George added: “These are what musical theatre students one day aspire to be shortlisted for and here I am cheating my way in through reality TV. So it’s a massive pressure but we all worked very hard. I’m up against some good people and some massive West End shows. It was never going to be a walk in the park. Ross Noble, the comedian, is in my category for Young Frankenstein. It is daunting. I’ve been to red carpet events but never an awards show like that.”

Our House choreographer Fabian Aloise is also up for an award.

George, a former Gorse Covert Primary School pupil, said: “I hope he wins. He was really nice. He allowed me to play the part but he also allowed me to be George Sampson.

“He said: ‘Here’s the stage. You know what you’re about. I’m not going to try and choreograph what you do. Let’s just make a set around your skills’.

“With some choreographers, it’s very structured especially if you’re doing a big show like Chicago and the choreographer has a certain style but he was very open and wanted to work together with me.”

Our House has been described as a jukebox musical meets Sliding Doors. It is about a boy called Joe who takes the girl of his dreams, Sarah, out on their first date on his 16th birthday. In an effort to impress her, Joe breaks into a building site and when the police turn up he has two decisions: face the music or make a run for it. Both outcomes are played out on stage.

George, whose first taste of treading the boards was in the hip-hop musical Into the Hoods, added: “My character Reecey is the instigator for ‘bad’ Joe. He’s like the devil on the shoulder and a constant threat to ‘good’ Joe throughout the show. And it’s all told through the music of Madness.

“We had some nights where the audience would come in and they’d had a few drinks and it’d be like karaoke. They’d all be singing It Must Be Love, Baggy Trousers and House of Fun. It was a show but it felt so much bigger than that. It felt like we were performing to a live concert audience every night rather than a theatre crowd.

“I’d love to do more musicals. I did the West End when I was 14 and I’ve had the bug for it since but I knew I wasn’t vocally strong enough to maintain a part in a musical. I’ve worked on that massively. I’ve been doing singing lessons every week in London.

“Even doing things like pantomimes where I’m singing songs to audiences, my confidence has gone through the roof.

“I’m feeling good right now and I hope this nomination helps me get further into the musicals world.

“As much as like TV and performing live and dancing, there’s something so good about musicals. You feel like a little rock star on stage.”

Not a bad showbiz career for the Birchwood lad who thought his fame after Britain’s Got Talent would be a flash in the pan.

The 24-year-old said: “I’m coming up to my 10th anniversary since winning the show and it feels bizarre that I’m still doing the work I wanted to do then.

‘It feels bizarre that I’m still doing the work I want to do. It doesn’t come easy. Loads of people come out of reality TV and it’s not necessarily gone the way they thought it would’

“It doesn’t come easy. We’ve seen loads of stories and cases of people who have come out of reality TV and it’s not necessarily gone the way they thought it would.

“There’s always pressure because there’s always going to be another series, another winner and somebody new in the spotlight.

“I think it comes down to hard work, a lot of luck and being nice to people along the way – making sure they want to work with you again.”

George found his natural flair for performing arts when his older brother Luke was going to a presentation evening at Birchwood High for incoming year seven students.

He added: “He was going to check the school out and because my dad was working and my mum had all the kids we all had to go along.

“As part of that there was a performing arts set. There was a breakdance teacher at Birchwood and he did a backflip. I said to my brother: ‘I want to be like that guy’.”

Luke started to go to the breakdance classes but because it was only for Birchwood High students and George was still primary school aged he could only watch. After eight weeks the teacher eventually said he could join in. By the time George was 13 he was spotted by a talent scout while busking outside the Arndale Centre in Manchester

George, who is also known for Waterloo Road and the StreetDance films, said: “This woman came over and saw me dance and said I was pretty good. She said she was a talent scout but I didn’t believe her at first because I used to have so many people who came up to me who said they were going to get me loads of work and it never happened.

“The next day she called me and said there was an audition down the road from where I was busking. I thought nothing of it. I didn’t know it was Britain’s Got Talent at the time but I rolled up my lino, stuck it over my shoulder, got my boom box on wheels and went over to this hotel. I was the last person to audition that year. I rocked up and saw all the TV crews everywhere and it was only then that it sunk in. The rest is history.”

To vote for George in the WhatsOnStage Awards click here.