'BGT' Paul Burling failed first audition

Published May 20 2010, 11:40 BST  |  By

Paul on Britain's Got Talent

© ITV

Britain's Got Talent star Paul Burling failed his first audition for the show, it has been revealed.

The 40-year-old comic, who Piers Morgan described as the best impressionist in the programme's history, originally tried out for the ITV1 talent contest in 2007.

Burling appeared briefly during a 20-second montage two years ago. He was put through to the second round, but the judges did not send him through to the live semi-finals. Opera singer Paul Potts went on to win the series.

"The judges were raving about Paul this year, but didn't remember they had already seen him," a source told The Sun.

Britain's Got Talent continues on Sunday at 8pm on ITV1.