Baton twirler Martin Wilkins has come in for a lot of stick over the years for his unusual hobby but he is now enjoying his 15 minutes of fame after auditioning for Britain’s Got Talent.

Mr Wilkins, 30, who lives with his mother in Potterne, near Devizes, got a Yes from all three celebrity judges when he appeared at auditions in Cardiff.

David Hasselhoff, Amanda Holden, and Michael McIntyre, all showed expressions of sheer delight as Mr Wilkins leaped and cartwheeled across the full width of the stage to the tune of Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now.

The former Devizes School pupil, who now works at Leekes in Melksham, was wearing in a sparkly purple t-shirt and facepaint to match.

Mr Wilkins is not allowed to reveal if he has made it through to the semi-final, which has been filmed but not yet aired.

But he is surprised to have made it this far in the hit ITV show and said that he “couldn’t believe” the judges’ overwhelmingly positive response to his act.

He added: “When I was practising I dropped my batons quite a few times but on the day it went really well and I didn’t drop the baton once.

“The judges and the audience liked it. It was a great feeling.”

Mr Wilkins, who took up twirling as a teenager, admits that in the past he has got some grief for his pastime but now everyone wants to be his friend.

“Quite a few people have come up to me and wanted a picture with me since seeing me on the TV.”

The baton twirler has been coaching the Sapphire Twirlstars in Westbury for nearly nine years.

After applying online for Britain’s Got Talent in June last year, Mr Wilkins rehearsed and waited before he was invited to perform in front of the researchers. “They seemed to like my act and invited me back to go before the live audience and the judges,” he said.

He was finally invited to audition in front of the judges in late November.

Ant and Dec were there to wish him luck, but he admitted to being very anxious as he stood in the wings. “I was very nervous and practised lots before I went,” said Mr Wilkins.

His flamboyant performance, which was televised a few weeks ago, received whoops and cheers from the audience at the Cardiff International Arena whose full capacity is 5,000. Among those watching were members of the Sapphire Twirlstars.

For the next stage he needs to up the ante though, progressing from one baton to two; perhaps if he makes it as far as the final it will be flaming batons he’s twirling.

See his performance on You Tube by searching under his name.