Clinical assistant hits the right notes on Britain’s Got Talent

A clinical assistant at the East of England Ambulance Service who was part of a community choir which starred on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent has talked about how singing helps her wellbeing.

Jo Morrell, who works as an assistant in the emergency clinical advice and triage centre (ECAT) in the Chelmsford control room, is part of the choir, The Big Sing, that wowed the judges and secured four yeses after a striking rendition of Emeli Sande’s song Brighter Days which was broadcast on 15^th April.

The choir – whose youngest member is three and oldest is 83 – surprised the judges as parts of the choir were hidden in the audience and leapt to their feet to join in the singing at intervals during the song.

In total, 350 members performed, from choirs based in Essex, Kent and Warwickshire, which drew the remark from head judge Simon Cowell, “My goodness, I was not expecting that.”

A YouTube clip of the performance has been viewed nearly 500,000 times and Emeli Sandé herself praised the performance on social media.

The choir received four yeses and are waiting to hear if they are through to the next round which is expected to happen in the next two weeks.

Jo is part of a team in the emergency clinical advice and triage centre (ECAT) in the Chelmsford control room that provides clinical input to 999 calls waiting for an ambulance response. The team provides advice to patients, upgrades call if necessary or arranges for appropriate alternative care pathways.

During times of high pressure for the service, the role can be stressful, and Jo finds singing helps with her wellbeing. 

Jo said: “No matter what kind of week I have had, and work can be challenging at times when the pressure on the service is high, singing always uplifts me and makes me happy.

"I have made some wonderful friends since joining The Big Sing in 2017 and it has increased my confidence and has helped me through some stressful times in my life.

“Auditioning on Britain’s Got Talent was an amazing opportunity and the reaction we got to the performance was incredible.”

Jo is thankful to the team at Big Sing for the opportunities they have provided her.

She adds: “Big Sing is run by Gemma and Howard Francis who have an extensive musical background, and work very hard to help everyone involved achieve amazing things together.

“They have given us so many opportunities! We sing in small and large groups, I have sung with children in schools, at community events and we have sung at the Civic Theatre with Mica Paris which was amazing. 

“We have been to London and sung at various landmarks, the audience response has always been amazing which makes us smile even more!”