When a kid actor showed up during the auditions for the new 2023 season of The Voice Kids, viewers were taken aback.
Do you know who he is? What if we told you that Oscar Hartland, 14, was the real Neil the Baby from Gavin & Stacey?
To be honest, we’re as shaken as you are.
The little actor, now a teenager, has huge goals of being a rockstar with his band, but he got his start in James Corden and Ruth Jones’ smash comedy series, portraying their cute kid.
Speaking in his VT – which was filmed in nostalgic Barry Island – he said: ‘A lot of people don’t recognise me now, but I was in a huge TV show.
‘I was Neil the Baby in Gavin & Stacey season 3, and I was Neil the Baby again in the Christmas special in 2019.’
‘Being in Gavin & Stacey, oh, it was crazy,’ Oscar added.
‘Working with huge names like James Corden, Rob Brydon, Ruth Jones… it was just like – woah.
‘It’s nice to go back to Barry with the band and show them what I did.
‘People know me as being Neil the Baby, which I absolutely love, but now I want to be known for my music and singing.’
Performing in front of coaches will.i.am, Pixie Lott, Danny Jones, and Ronan Keating was likely to cause nervousness, but Oscar’s mother planned a surprise message for him before he entered the stage.
Ruth herself – aka Nessa, Oscar’s on-screen mother – was on hand to wish him success, of course in character.
‘Oh, Neil the Baby, what’s occurin’?’, Ruth began in the accent we all know and love.
‘We knows what’s occurin’, you’re on The Voice Kids,’ she joked.
‘Don’t forget, you takes after your mother when it comes to music. Go out there and you smash it, kid. Alright? Cracking.’
Oscar was in awe as he viewed the video, and the enthusiasm didn’t stop there.
Following his performance of a Foo Fighters classic, he managed to sway three of the judges, leaving Pixie, Danny, and Ronan to sell themselves as the perfect mentor for him.
Oscar ultimately picked Danny because of his excitement and familiarity with a band as a member of McFly.
Oscar couldn’t leave the stage without a sly namedrop, of course.
The guitar player said: ‘I used to do acting. I was in a TV show not so long ago.’
Naturally, the judges were curious…
‘It was called Gavin & Stacey,’ he told them, leaving them all stunned.
‘I love Gavin & Stacey!’, exclaimed Pixie.
‘I was Neil the Baby,’ he said with a smile.
‘Very cool,’ Ronan commented.
Viewers were also taken aback when they saw Neil the Baby, now all grown up and pursuing his ambitions.
Taking to Twitter, a very excitable Rylan Clark wrote: ‘NEIL THE BABY IS ON THE VOICE KIDS ALERT’.
NEIL THE BABY IS ON THE VOICE KIDS ALERT
— R Y L A N (@Rylan) July 1, 2023
Omg it's Neil the Baby! #TheVoiceKids
— Ice Crystal ❄️🐐❄️ (@ice_crystal) July 1, 2023
Neil the baby being on #thevoice wtf I feel old
— Kris-py Shredded Chicken (@kirv96) July 1, 2023
OH Neil the baby is quite good! #thevoicekidsuk #thevoiceuk
— Amy Joanne (@AmyJoanne__) July 1, 2023
‘I feel old’, stated another – same.
‘Omg it’s Neil the Baby!’, wrote another.
‘Neil the baby’s on the tele!!!’, tweeted another.
The Voice Kids continues Saturday on ITV1 and ITVX.
Source My Celebrity Life.
