She might be out, but she’s certainly not down, is the verdict of fourteen-year-old Victoria Wiltshire’s father, reflecting proudly on his daughter’s time on national TV, as she featured in the hit show, The Voice Kids.

Her beautiful operatic voice was enough to wow the judges in the blind audition, which sees the celebrity mentors with their backs to the contestant in the famous red chairs.

Victoria’s version of ‘O Mio Babbino Caro’ saw Will-i-am push his buzzer in the dying seconds of her chance, inviting her on to the superstar’s team in what became a whirlwind experience for the Midsomer Norton teen.

Victoria then progressed to the Battle Round, where she went head-to-head with two other contestants, Marby and Brooke, singing a version of ‘There must be an Angel’, by the Eurythmics – losing out to Brooke, who was taken through to the next round.

This isn’t the first time we have heard of Victoria – she won the Rotary Talent Competition last year at Writhlington School and with experience under her belt, jumped at the chance to audition for The Voice Kids. Her father, Andrew Wiltshire, explains: “She did phenomenally well to get to the stage that she did – as 16,000 children auditioned.

“Victoria originally had a call back from her first audition in Cardiff, which took place in October last year; then we had to go to London where she took part in interviews and singing tests. This was then whittled down to fifty children up to the age of fourteen, and then the blind auditions took place.

“Victoria had been suffering from a sickness bug leading up to the televised audition, so she did amazingly well – being chosen by Will-i-am was so exciting, and before we knew it, we were then down to 36 children.

“Given she had come from nowhere, we were so pleased – some of the contestants were from West End shows and everyone was very talented. The whole experience was amazing for her.

“The blind audition took place last December, with the battle round in late January, so we knew how far she had reached before it was televised. She made good friends with the other contestants and relaxed in the battle round – but she did brilliantly in both.

“She really enjoyed it and now wants to have a go at something like Britain’s Got Talent.

“ITV were brilliant at safeguarding all of the children, and it was fantastic exposure for her; we’ve had so many comments since last weekend saying she should have made it through.”

Victoria’s love of music began when she was just seven-years-old, practicing with her grandmother, a pianist. As she progressed with the piano, her music exams meant that she also had to sing – and her story began from there. Whilst at St John’s Primary School in Midsomer Norton, Victoria’s love of music grew and she is now at Hayesfield Girls School, Bath, having had experience of being a chorister at the Abbey. She is now currently studying for her Grade 8.

Victoria’s interest was sparked in opera, also due to her grandmother, and has been encouraged by her Emborough teacher, Alexander Johnson, an international tenor who teaches at Bath University. Whilst children of Victoria’s age wouldn’t normally be taught opera, he could see her potential and was encouraged by how quickly she picked up Italian and French lyrics – working hard to help her with music for the show.

Having left The Voice Kids, Victoria is now continuing with her music studies and progressing her vocal coaching, which will see her one day looking for a sponsor.

“Often in the adult Voice competition it can be a contestant’s last chance to make it big,” adds Andrew. “But for these kids, there is so much in front of them. This is just the beginning for Victoria.”