Edward Upcott Explained

Edward Upcott
Birth Name:Edward Robin Upcott
Birth Date:29 December 1991[1]
Birth Place:Chertsey, Surrey, England
Nationality:British
Known For:Flyer for Spelbound;[2] [3]
With Doug Fordyce, World Acrobatic gymnastics men's pairs champion 2010;
5 time British champion;
With others, holder of Guinness World Record for Highest Throw and Catch of a Person
Country:United Kingdom
Height:1.52 m
Discipline:ACRO
Level:International
Natlteam:2002 – 2012
Club:Spelthorne School of Gymnastics
Gym:Spelthorne School of Gymnastics
Headcoach:Neil Griffiths
Assistcoach:Andrew Griffiths
Choreographer:Nicola Yellop
Retired:2012
Show-Medals:yes

Edward Robin Upcott (born 29 December 1991) is a five times British acrobatic gymnast champion who was world men's pairs champion in partnership with Doug Fordyce, winning the gold medal in July 2010 in Poland.[4] [5] [6] [7] 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.[8] With his new partner Adam McAssey, Upcott was awarded the silver medal in the 2012 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships.[9]

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.[10] [11] [12] 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.[13] [14]

Upcott left Spelbound in 2012 to pursue other avenues.[15] [16] While still a member, he was cast as a stunt double for Asa Butterfield in Hugo.[17] He works with Doug Fordyce as Brothers of Eden.[18] His stated ambition is to be part of Cirque du Soleil.

Personal life

Upcott was educated at The Magna Carta School in Surrey.

A long-term asthmatic, Upcott has learned how to control this such that it has no impact on his sporting endeavours.[19] His official biography states that, as a child, he nearly died during his first asthma attack.[20]

His younger siblings, Alice and Adam are also acrobatic gymnasts.[21] [22]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Edward Upcott - Biography . 26 September 2012 . Edward was born on Sunday 29th December 1991 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130905075550/http://edwardupcott.com/page2.htm . 5 September 2013 . dmy .
  2. News: Prepare to be gobsmacked. 1 July 2010. The Press and Journal. 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. News: Interview Extra - Edward Upcott, The Royal Variety Performance. Penn. Elaine. 2 December 2010. TV Choice. 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. News: BBC Sport - Gymnast Edward Upcott leads Surrey Sports Award stars. BBC Online. 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. News: BBC Sport - Gymnastics - Devon gymnast Douglas Fordyce wins world gold. BBC Online. 26 September 2012. 20 July 2010. 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. Web site: British World Triumph in Poland. 18 July 2010. British Gymnastics. 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. 11 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120711182345/https://www.british-gymnastics.org/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1460:british-world-triumph-in-poland&catid=54:acrobatic-gymnastics&Itemid=91. dead.
  7. News: BBC SPORT - Other sport... - Gymnastics - Devon teenager wins world bronze. 24 July 2009. BBC Online. 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..
  8. Web site: 2010 Wroclaw ACRO World Championships : News. https://archive.today/20130202175529/http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,5239-201167-218390-48162-307790-news-item,00.html. dead. 2 February 2013. 8 June 2010. Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique. 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..
  9. Web site: 2012 Lake Buena Vista ACRO World Championships : News . https://archive.today/20130123161752/http://lakebuenavista2012.fig-gymnastics.com/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,5255-205789-223012-49312-316369-news-item,00.html . dead . 23 January 2013 . 18 April 2012 . . 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. .
  10. Web site: Spelbound win 'Britain's Got Talent'. Millar. Paul. 5 June 2010. Digital Spy. 5 June 2010. London. Having been the bookies' favourite for most of the series, the gymnast troupe beat comic dance duo Twist & Pulse..
  11. News: Gymnast troupe Spelbound win Britain's Got Talent. 5 June 2010. BBC News. 5 June 2010. Judge Simon Cowell 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..
  12. News: Britain's Got Talent winner's Spelbound want to be in Olympics - 3am & Mirror Online. 7 June 2010. Daily Mirror. 4 October 2012. In a breathtaking live move, Edward Upcott was thrown over the heads of judges Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden..
  13. Web site: Highest throw and catch of a person. https://archive.today/20130125061009/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/9000/highest-throw-and-catch-of-a-person. dead. 25 January 2013. 17 January 2011. Guinness World Records. 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..
  14. Web site: Edward Upcott - Spelbound - Official Website of 2010 Britains Got Talent Winners. 18 January 2011. 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.. https://web.archive.org/web/20120916130956/http://spelbound.co.uk/tag/edward-upcott. 16 September 2012. dead.
  15. Web site: We'll miss you – thank you x. 6 September 2012. Spelbound. 26 September 2012. Doug and Ed are pursuing their own stage act. https://web.archive.org/web/20120917134536/http://spelbound.co.uk/well-miss-you-thank-you-x. 17 September 2012. dead.
  16. Web site: Edward Upcott.com - Latest News . 10 August 2012 . 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... . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120629002744/http://edwardupcott.com/page5.htm . 29 June 2012 . dmy .
  17. Web site: Profile for Edward Upcott :: Sports Promotions (UK) Ltd. 26 September 2012. Acrobatic British Champion 5 Times, overall World Champion 2010 ; Worked as a Stunt Double on Scorses's Invention of hugo Cabret.
  18. Web site: Brothers of Eden - Corporate & Club Entertainment. 23 December 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130423074246/http://brothersofeden.com/. 23 April 2013. dmy-all.
  19. News: Britain's Got Talent winners Spelbound set to perform at 2012 Games . Roche. Elisa. 7 June 2010. Daily Express. 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.”.
  20. Web site: Go Surrey - Edward Upcott . 29 September 2012 . From an early age Edward has suffered from asthma, as a baby he nearly died from his first asthma attack. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120421061008/http://www.gosurrey.info/how-you-can-be-part-of-it/support-your-local-athletes/edward-upcott/ . 21 April 2012 . dmy .
  21. Web site: Alice Upcott profile. British Gymnastics. 25 July 2014.
  22. live. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211210/VWECcteafbM. 2021-12-10. An interview with the Upcotts . YouTube.

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