Edward Upcott
Born
Edward Robin Upcott

(1991-12-29) 29 December 1991[1]
Chertsey, Surrey, England[1]
NationalityBritish
Known forFlyer for Spelbound;[2][3]
With Doug Fordyce, World Acrobatic gymnastics men's pairs champion 2010;[4][5][6]
5 time British champion;[1]
With others, holder of Guinness World Record for Highest Throw and Catch of a Person[7][8]
Edward Upcott
Country representedUnited Kingdom
Height1.52 m (5 ft 0 in)[9]
DisciplineAcrobatic gymnastics
LevelInternational
Years on national team2002 – 2012
ClubSpelthorne School of Gymnastics
GymSpelthorne School of Gymnastics
Head coach(es)Neil Griffiths
Assistant coach(es)Andrew Griffiths
ChoreographerNicola Yellop
Retired2012
Medal record
Men's acrobatic gymnastics
Representing  Great Britain
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2008 Glasgow Men's Pairs
Gold medal – first place2010 Wrocław Men's Pairs
Silver medal – second place2012 Lake Buena Vista Men's Pairs

Edward Robin Upcott (born 29 December 1991)[1] is a five times British acrobatic gymnast champion[10] who was world men's pairs champion in partnership with Doug Fordyce, winning the gold medal in July 2010 in Poland.[4][5][6][11] Before his partnership with Fordyce, Upcott was in partnership with Mark Fyson, who retired in 2009 after the pair had won the bronze medal in the 2008 world championships in Glasgow.[12] With his new partner Adam McAssey, Upcott was awarded the silver medal in the 2012 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships.[13]

Upcott came to UK national public attention with his membership of the gymnastic group Spelbound, who rose to fame in 2010, winning the fourth series of Britain's Got Talent. Part of their performance was a spectacular throw of Upcott over the heads of the judges, catching him in the main performance area.[2][14][15][16] The prize was £100,000 and the opportunity to appear at the 2010 Royal Variety Performance.

With Spelbound, Upcott holds the world record for 'Highest throw and catch of a person', where he was the person thrown and caught. The successful record attempt was televised on the UK children's TV show Blue Peter.[7][8]

Upcott left Spelbound in 2012 to pursue other avenues.[17][18] While still a member, he was cast as a stunt double for Asa Butterfield in Hugo.[10] He works with Doug Fordyce as Brothers of Eden.[19] His stated ambition is to be part of Cirque du Soleil.[3]

Personal life

Upcott was educated at The Magna Carta School in Surrey.[1]

A long-term asthmatic, Upcott has learned how to control this such that it has no impact on his sporting endeavours.[3][20] His official biography states that, as a child, he nearly died during his first asthma attack.[1][21]

His younger siblings, Alice and Adam are also acrobatic gymnasts.[22][23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Edward Upcott - Biography". Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2012. Edward was born on Sunday 29th December 1991
  2. 1 2 "Prepare to be gobsmacked". The Press and Journal. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2012. Over 19million TV viewers flinched as they watched Edward Upcott soar over the heads of Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.
  3. 1 2 3 Penn, Elaine (2 December 2010). "Interview Extra - Edward Upcott, The Royal Variety Performance". TV Choice. Retrieved 26 September 2012. Edward Upcott is mostly recognised as the gymnast who was thrown over the judges heads in the final of Britain's Got Talent. Now, the 19-year-old, who won the 2010 Senior Acrobatic World Championship, is preparing for this year's Royal Variety Performance, alongside his Spelbound group members
  4. 1 2 "BBC Sport - Gymnast Edward Upcott leads Surrey Sports Award stars". BBC Online. Retrieved 26 September 2012. Gymnast Edward Upcott won the Sports Personality of the Year award at the 2010 Surrey Sports Awards. The 18-year-old was recognised for his achievements after he won gold in the men's pairs event at the World Acrobatic Gymnastic Championship in Poland in July.
  5. 1 2 "BBC Sport - Gymnastics - Devon gymnast Douglas Fordyce wins world gold". BBC Online. 20 July 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2012. Devon's Douglas Fordyce has won gold at the World Acrobatic Gymnastic Championships in Poland, alongside Edward Upcott in the men's pair. Fordyce and Upcott clinched the title with a score of 28.662, beating the Russian pair [28.506] into second.
  6. 1 2 "British World Triumph in Poland". British Gymnastics. 18 July 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2012. The last day of the World Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships in Wrozlaw, Poland was marked by truly unique British success - both our Men's Pair and Men's Four won World titles in their respective categories.
    •Men's Pair: Douglas Fordyce & Edward Upcott
    •Men's Four: Adam Buckingham, Adam McAssey, Alex Uttley, Jonathan Stranks
  7. 1 2 "Highest throw and catch of a person". Guinness World Records. 17 January 2011. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2012. The highest throw and catch of a person is 3.66 m (12 ft) and was achieved by Adam McAssey, Adam Buckingham, Edward Upcott, Alex Uttley and Chris Rogers (all UK) from Spelbound Dance Company on the set of Blue Peter in London, UK, on 17 January 2011.
  8. 1 2 "Edward Upcott - Spelbound - Official Website of 2010 Britains Got Talent Winners". 18 January 2011. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012. Spelbound set a brand new World Record in the Blue Peter studio when Edward Upcott was thrown over a bar suspended 12 feet above the studio floor.
  9. ↑
  10. 1 2 "Profile for Edward Upcott :: Sports Promotions (UK) Ltd". Retrieved 26 September 2012. Acrobatic British Champion 5 Times, overall World Champion 2010 ; Worked as a Stunt Double on Scorses's Invention of hugo Cabret
  11. ↑ "BBC SPORT - Other sport... - Gymnastics - Devon teenager wins world bronze". BBC Online. 24 July 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2012. Devon's Douglas Fordyce has won bronze in the acrobatic gymnastics at the World Games in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Fordyce, 19 and his partner Edward Upcott, 17, finished third in the men's pair finals.
  12. ↑ "2010 Wroclaw ACRO World Championships : News". Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique. 8 June 2010. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2012. After the retirement of his partner Mark Fyson in 2009, 18 year old British acrobatic gymnast Edward Upcott teamed up with Douglas Fordyce (20) to build the country's new number one Men's Pair.
  13. ↑ "2012 Lake Buena Vista ACRO World Championships : News". Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique. 18 April 2012. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2012. This is likely to be Upcott and McAssey's final performance performance in the amateur arena. Upcott, who won the 2010 World title with former partner Douglas Fordyce, and McAssey, a member of Britain's World title winning men's four the same year, are both retiring to pursue other projects. "It's been absolutely amazing," McAssey said of their journey in Acro earlier this week.
  14. ↑ Millar, Paul (5 June 2010). "Spelbound win 'Britain's Got Talent'". London: Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 June 2010. Having been the bookies' favourite for most of the series, the gymnast troupe beat comic dance duo Twist & Pulse.
  15. ↑ "Gymnast troupe Spelbound win Britain's Got Talent". BBC News. 5 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010. Judge Simon Cowel said "the right boys and girls won on the night". He likened Spelbound's routine to an Olympic gold medal-winning performance and said it was one of the most astonishing things he had ever seen on live TV.
  16. ↑ "Britain's Got Talent winner's Spelbound want to be in Olympics - 3am & Mirror Online". Daily Mirror. 7 June 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2012. In a breathtaking live move, Edward Upcott was thrown over the heads of judges Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden.
  17. ↑ "We'll miss you – thank you x". Spelbound. 6 September 2012. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012. Doug and Ed are pursuing their own stage act
  18. ↑ "Edward Upcott.com - Latest News". 10 August 2012. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012. After 2 years performing with Spelbound, Edward has announced he will be leaving the group and moving on to new and exciting things...
  19. ↑ "Brothers of Eden - Corporate & Club Entertainment". Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  20. ↑ Roche, Elisa (7 June 2010). "Britain's Got Talent winners Spelbound set to perform at 2012 Games". Daily Express. Retrieved 29 September 2012. Edward Upcott, 18, who has battled asthma, said: "I like the idea of flying over the royal box at the Royal Variety Performance."
  21. ↑ "Go Surrey - Edward Upcott". Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012. From an early age Edward has suffered from asthma, as a baby he nearly died from his first asthma attack.
  22. ↑ "Alice Upcott profile". British Gymnastics. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  23. ↑ An interview with the Upcotts. YouTube. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021.
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