LOVE or hate him, Viggo Venn will be a headline act at this year’s Royal Variety Show after triumphing on Britain’s Got Talent.
The Norwegian, 33, has been a polarising figure since he stepped onto the stage with his slapstick comedy routine, which Simon Cowell dubbed “the most stupid act we’ve had this year”.
Viggo triumphed in the BGT final despite Simon Cowell initially hating him
Viggo has been with stunning girlfriend Julia since 2017
Last night some furious BGT fans hit out after he was crowned the winner for dancing around the stage to Daft Punk hit One More Time waving his trademark high vis jacket before climbing into a huge balloon.
But Viggo had won over the judges and audiences at home. Even Simon, who begged the comic to stop during his first audition and even pressed his red buzzer, praised the clown.
The head judge told him: “I have never ever met an act like you in my life, I will admit it, I really really love you now.”
Viggo – whose routine involves him stripping many layers of clothing to reveal yellow hi-vis waistcoat after hi-vis waistcoat – seemed stunned by his victory.
He told hosts Ant and Dec after he was declared the winner: “I feel extremely visible right now, thank you so much!”
Judge Alesha Dixon – a fan of the clown from the get go – told him: “You’ve captivated the nation, they love you,” while Bruno Tonioli hailed him the new “Mr Bean”, adding: “Your physical comedy is world-class.”
Viggo – who also takes home the £250,000 prize – was already making his mark on the British comedy circuit before appearing on Britain’s Got Talent.
He was runner-up in the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of The Year 2022, but bagged New Act of the Year 2022.
Simon was a fan of Viggo by the time he was voted the show winner by the public
Despite being voted the winner, some BGT fans have vented their anger
On his website he says: “So far I have gigged above every single pub in London.
“I have visited every function room there is while doing the Stand-Up Circuit in London after the pandemic ended in 2022.”
Prior to relocating to the UK, the comic had several awards under his belt.
His show Zach&Viggo: Thunderflop won Best Comedy Award at Adelaide Fringe, and when it came to Brighton Fringe it took home Best Comedy Award again.
Viggo also teaches clowning; before his debut on BGT, he gave two classes in London in April.
Stunning girlfriend
Through it all, Viggo has been supported by his stunning partner and fellow comedian Julia Masli.
The couple appear to have been together since 2017 and have enjoyed travelling the world together.
Julia has posted photos of them in Paris, Greece, Italy and even Australia.
Shortly after the Covid-19 lockdown, she shared a loved-up photo of them captioned: “The only one I’m allowed to kiss this pandemic.”
Julia shared this loved-up photo of them captioned: ‘The only one I’m allowed to kiss this pandemic’
The couple appear to have been together since 2017
According to Julia’s website, she was born in Estonia, and has a mix of Eastern European and Balkans heritage.
They’ve even performed as a duo in the London comedy circuit, as they now call England their home.
Scrolling through old posts reveals handsome Viggo scrubs up well, suggesting his mad professor-esque hairstyle is part of the character he created for BGT.
And at the biggest gig of his career, devoted Julia was in the crowd to cheer him on.
In a sweet social media post last night, she wrote: “He won! But he’s been our winner from the beginning, so I’m not surprised at all. Glad everyone realised.”
Team high vis
Like Viggo, Erling appears to be a big fan of hi-vis clothing
Viggo has hinted he was spurred on to success by fellow Norwegian Erling Haaland, the Manchester City striker.
In April he shared a snap of the player – who like Viggo, often sports fluorescent coloured clothing – captioned: “Fellow Norwegian Erling Braut Haaland, (also in Hi Vis) celebrating that we both are going to each our own Semi Final!”
And on May 14 Viggo shared a compilation of some of Haaland’s finest moments on the pitch, interspersed with his BGT audition.
He captioned the amusing reel: “The two Norwegians @erling.haaland and @viggovenn can’t stop doing it One More Time” – a nod to his act.
‘Bright future’
Viggo has toured with his shows across the world, including a stint in Australia
When not performing or on holiday, Viggo trains other clowns
PR experts are hailing the clown a genius with a bright career ahead of him, and reckon he’ll find a fan in King Charles.
PR guru Mark Borkowski tells The Celeb Report: “The mood of the nation wants to be cheered up. His performances are frivolous and full of stupidity.
“He wants to make you laugh, and you could see the reaction of the room.
“I think he touched thousands. If I was Disney or a big children’s entertainment network, I’d be snapping him up.”
Mark adds that the reaction to his win – both positive and negative – demonstrate how big a show BGT still is, as it gets the nation talking.
“I’m not surprised Twitter hates him, angry people vent their frustrations on there, not the people who are happy with the result,” he says.
“Viggo’s up there with the best clowns in the world. He will make millions”.
Cultural commentator and PR expert, Nick Ede, adds: “We know King Charles loves to laugh, so he may just become his biggest fan!
“Britain’s Got Talent has always had wild card and novelty acts, but it’s usually the performers with real wow appeal that win the series.
“This year Viggo has changed things and polarised the nation.
“Comedy does take talent, and many people forget that physical comedy is actually really hard and takes a lot of skill. It looks so easy because he’s practised a lot.
“The reason Viggo won is because the audience at home voted for him. Getting everyone to dress in hi-vis vests may sound inane on paper, but visually it created a show of unity and for three minutes, he brought people together – and that joy was felt by viewers.”
Viggo’s partner Julia was at the final of BGT to see her other half win the competition
