We granted Kaiden's wish to visit the live auditions of his favourite show: Britain's Got Talent.
After spending so much time watching the show while in hospital, his behind the scenes wish was a huge treat!
10-year-old Kaiden is a super sociable boy, who loves making new friends. His favourite hobbies are boxing and gaming, and his favourite television programme is Britain’s Got Talent.
In 2022, Kaiden was diagnosed with a medulloblastoma – a type of brain tumour which has required him to have brain surgery, chemo, and proton beam therapy and lots of other hospital treatments.
“He’s absolutely a real-life superhero,” says Kaiden’s mum Kathryn. “He’s been through so much trauma so young, but still, he’s a little ray of sunshine to everyone he meets.”
Watching Britain’s Got Talent videos on YouTube is one of Kaiden’s favourite ways to pass time in hospital. Kaiden was given the chance to experience Britain’s Got Talent for real when he was part of the Ravi’s Dream Choir, which was awarded Simon Cowell’s Golden Buzzer after they auditioned in 2023.
When it came to his wish, Kaiden knew early on that he wanted it to be focused on his favourite programme. “Being on Britain’s Got Talent with Ravi’s Choir was one of the best times of Kaiden’s life, so it makes sense that he wanted to go back to that,” says Kathryn. “In the end, Kaiden said he wished he could go and do a day’s work at BGT.”
“He was absolutely over the moon when our Wish Granter told us she’d made it all happen,” she adds.
On the weekend of his wish, Kaiden and his family travelled up to Blackpool, where live auditions for Britain’s Got Talent were taking place. The first order of the day was for Kaiden to walk the special red carpet, usually reserved for the famous judges!
“It felt so surreal, watching my little boy beaming while having everyone around cheer him along the red carpet,” says Kathryn. When Simon, Ant & Dec and the other judges arrived, Kaiden was also invited to meet them on the red carpet, and even snapped a picture with them.
From there, Kaiden was welcomed backstage, where he again got to spend some time with the judges and the hopeful contestants. The team even gave him a GoPro camera, so he could film some of the interesting things he got to see!
When it came time to sit down and begin the show, Kaiden and his family got to sit right by the judges. Kathryn recalls: “In the gaps between acts, Kaiden would run up to Simon and have a conversation with him. Simon was amazing, and made Kaiden feel like the most important person in the world.
“I think one of Kaiden’s favourite parts was during one particular break, where Alesha let him push her red buzzer!”
Kathryn says at the end of the day, Kaiden turned to her and said: “This has been the best time of my life.”
“I knew applying for Kaiden to have a wish was important – he’s been through so much and had to grow up so quickly, in ways lots of his friends and peers will never have to. He deserved to have some cool new experience happen to him that was completely separate from the hospital and treatment,” explains Kathryn. “But I don’t think I quite expected the extent of the impact it has actually had on him.”
Even now, Kaiden continues to reminisce about the day. Kathryn says it has given him a boost to go back to school more frequently, where he loves telling people about his wish.
“It’s just incredibly special to me that he’ll always have those memories – even when his illness and treatment challenges him in the future, he’ll be able to think back to that day where he felt so happy,” says Kathryn. “And I think that will help him – help all of us – get through any tough times ahead.”
Every donation helps us to grant more magical wishes for seriously ill children across the UK
