America's Got Talent star Paul Zerdin glad to be back on stage in the West Midlands

He then went on to win ITV’s The Big Big Talent Show, hosted by Jonathan Ross. Since then he has appeared on countless TV shows and has made three appearances at The Royal Variety Performance. Winning Series 10 of America’s Got Talent in September 2015, Zerdin and his sidekicks soon went viral on YouTube, receiving millions of views from around the world.

The last few years have been extremely busy, on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2016 Zerdin headed to The Las Vegas Strip for a headline residency at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The next two years saw Paul appear on spin-off shows America’s Got Talent – The Champions and Britain’s Got Talent The Champions. Since then Paul has toured the US and UK with his critically acclaimed ‘All Mouth’ and ‘Puppet Party’ shows.

Last Christmas saw Paul return to his favourite theatre The London Palladium in his 27th  Pantomime Season. And now he’s on the road with a UK tour that reaches Telford’s Oakengates Theatre on March 30, Stafford Gatehouse on April 8 and Birmingham Old Rep on April 9.

The resume nails it, of course, but what’s even more impressive is his manner. Zerdin is simultaneously polished and professional. He’s got an impressive work ethic and huge ambition. But there’s no lack of humility, either.

Consider his entry into the hard-to-win America’s Got Talent Show. Yes, he’d got an advantage over some given his two decades of experience and the confidence that brings. But he was also putting his neck on the block, going into a hostile environment in which others were more in-tune with what might be required to win. He was opening himself up to criticism that would be watched around the world in pursuit of a bigger prize. It took courage to take that on.

“With a show like America’s Got Talent, the platform is incredible because it’s got global reach. So my plan was to enter and try to get to the finals. I didn’t plan on winning it. I hoped to get to the final to get all that exposure.”

He did win, however, scooping the $1 million prize while earning his own show in Las Vegas. “It went a bit nuts for a while. It was life-changing to an extent. I’d been doing this for 25 years and had had a reasonable amount of success at home.

“After winning AGT, I moved to Las Vegas for a while and had my own show. AGT opened doors because of all the PR and press. It was easier to get meetings, for instance. But you only get a short window and you have to make the most of it. After finishing in Vegas, I toured America and Canada a couple of times. I didn’t want the fan base to go to pieces here, either, so I came home too.”

There were risks involved, of course. Zerdin could have fallen flat on his face and been sent scurrying home, tail between his legs, back into the arms of fans in Telford or Tamworth, Stafford or Steveage.

“It was a calculated risk. There are no guarantees with that show. I had success with The Big Big Talent Show in 1996 on ITV, which helped my career enormously. Then, 25 years later, I thought I’d do another. I’d got as far as I could in this country so I thought why not try another country and a much bigger market?

“America is huge. It was a risk I thought I should take. When you walk out there for your first audition for the judges, at Hollywood, in the theatre where the Oscars are filmed, there was a voice in my head asking why I was there. But another voice was telling me I’d do well. It could have gone wrong but I had the experience so I felt I could walk out on a big stage.”

Despite his experience, Zerdin found the experience initially intimidating. “Those judges look at you and they mean business. But I am very ambitious and I can’t stop doing things.”

Like all performers, he’s been hit hard by the pandemic. Having won AGT and featured in 2019 in Britain’s Got Talent, in addition to a series fo successful tours and multiple performances at the London Palladium in panto, he was forced to sit it out.

“The pandemic has been difficult and the entertainment industry has suffered terribly because the Government didn’t give a rat’s thing about it. I was able to develop new TV projects and keep busy but it was difficult because nobody in my industry knew when we’d start earning again.

“I’m pleased to say I did the tour over autumn last year and though we had to postpone a few dates we got through the tour without any covid outbreaks. Then we went straight into the Palladium for panto.

“All around us, shows were stopping but we did our panto and got to the end. It has been a difficult time but I feel quite fortunate because I’ve been able to work a lot.”

It wasn’t just the loss of income that hit Zerdin and others so hard. He also missed the lure of the spotlight, the happy sound of laughter and the confidence of his crowd.

“Getting back out there meant audience numbers weren’t as plentiful as normal because people were understandably cautions.

“Some places would be sold out, like they would normally, but in some places I’d be half full because people were scared to sit in a theatre. Me and my tour manager were laughing when we were trying to get to Bristol. We were doing a tour during a pandemic and a fuel crisis when there was no fuel. Literally, in autumn last year, everything that could go wrong did. But we made it work and I saw the funny side.”

Zerdin has more than just his UK dates to keep him busy. He’s been touring in Dubai and then he’s looking forward to his spring dates locally. “It’s not a massive run of dates but I’m really looking forward to it.

“It’s a brand new show with my bodyguard, my urban fox, and then the 3 puppets are all on their own at the end. It’s the most complicated thing I’ve ever done. While learning it I had a tantrum with myself. But when you’re out there doing it, you realise it was worth doing it. it’s a little bit naughty, but not outrageously rude. My old man still doesn’t care what he says. He has selective hearing and is almost senile but not quite. There’s a lot going on and I’m proud of the show.”

Zerdin’s experience since AGT and through the pandemic have taught him to be more independent, to rely on his own channels rather than others.

“I’m working on a comedy special at the moment based on this tour and I’ve been talking to Netflix and other people because I’m very keen to get this off the ground. Once you’ve got your name out there you’ve got to keep it out there.

“My YouTube channel is something I’m really working on. You’re always at the mercy of producers and commissioning directors etc in tv. I worked for Disney and did a lot of tv but you’re always at the mercy of someone else. Broadcasting is changing very quickly and massively. With my YouTube channel I am my own boss and I love that control.

“I produced a show during lockdown, professionally, called Sponge Weekly. I want to do a second series of that, which is two fingers up to commissioning editors. I love that freedom.”

Most of all though, he wants to make people laugh.

“I want people to come and see the show and have a laugh. I want people to say omg that’s the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages. Secondly, I want them to say how did he do that? it’s almost like seeing a musician. I want people to laugh first and foremost. It’s about being funny. The people that came to see the show on the last tour, they would come up to me and thank me for making them laugh. I want people to be amazed, there’s animatronics in the show and the puppets are doing their own things. But the bottom line is that it’s a stand-up comedy show and I want to make people laugh.”

Laughter is something Zerdin has been bringing us for years. There’s no sign of him slowing down.