Burlesque Performers too tame for Britains Got Talent?

Burlesque dancer who lost out at the semi-final stage of Britain's Got Talent has laughed off calls made by Simon Cowell to wear fewer clothes.

Christina Evenden, of Ravenscroft, Hook, performed live in front of millions of television viewers on Friday night as part of Caburlesque - an eight-strong dance troupe that combines burlesque and cabaret.

The girls, who formed the group when they met at Middlesex University, had been told by judges in the previous round to wear skimpier outfits for the semi-finals.

And while two of the judges - media expert Piers Morgan and actress Amanda Holden - complimented the girls for their improvement in the routine to a Shirley Bassey cover of Pink's Let's Get The Party Started, final judge Simon Cowell thought that they didn't go far enough.

He said: "I don't think there's any chance of you making the final after that performance because I did not see enough personality, enough humour, and I don't think you went far enough."

Miss Evenden, 24, said: "We just laughed about it really. I suppose he's just a bit of a dirty man.

"We were not going to go any further than what we believe is burlesque dancing. He seems to believe we are strippers - but we're dancers."

Escala, an all-female quartet of classical musicians, and "Nemisis", a street-dancing quintet, beat Caburlesque and five other acts to reach Saturday's final.

Former Robert May's pupil Christina said: "It was a tough line-up.

"We were really happy with how it went, and overall we were quite happy with the comments and the feedback."

She added: "It was surreal though - we spent the last three months living and breathing Britain's Got Talent and then it was all over."

George Sampson, a 14-year-old street dancer, won £100,000 after triumphing in the live final on Saturday night. He will now entertain Prince Charles at the Royal Variety Performance at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool.