See ‘Heated Rivalry’s Shaheen Jafargholi ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ Audition at Age 12

Heated Rivalry Season 2 has cast Percy Jackson‘s Daniel Diemer and The Agency‘s Shaheen Jafargholi as Ryan and Fabian. For those who don’t know Jafargholi, did you know he almost won Britain’s Got Talent when he was just a kid, and he was on the same season as Susan Boyle?

Jafargholi is a Welsh singer and actor who first auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent when he was 12 years old in 2009. His audition was in Season 3 Episode 2, and he sang Amy Winehouse‘s version of “Valerie” by The Zutons. Simon Cowell stopped him mid-performance to say, “You got this really wrong.”

Cowell asked him to sing another song, as he felt “Valerie” didn’t suit Jafargholi. The 12-year-old rallied and sang the Jackson 5’s version of Smokey Robinson‘s “Who’s Lovin’ You,” and he got a standing ovation from the audience and judges Cowell, Amanda Holden, and Piers Morgan. You can watch Jafargholi’s Britain’s Got Talent audition below.

Jafargholi finished in seventh place that season, and Boyle came in second place. The winner was the street dance group Diversity. In third place was saxophonist Julian Smith.

Jafargholi had been working as a performer before he auditioned for the singing competition, sparking some criticism about the show needing to highlight amateurs, but a spokesperson for the series defended him by saying, “Britain’s Got Talent is open to everyone, whether they are a professional or an amateur. What Shaheen has done in the past has no bearing on his role on Britain’s Got Talent.”

Jafargholi will soon be seen in The Agency Season 2, but audiences might know him as Shakil from EastEnders or Marty from Casualty. Other credits include Wreck, Lost Boys & Fairies, In Flight, and the upcoming series War.

Heated Rivalry Season 2 is filming now in Toronto and will come out in Spring 2027 on HBO Max in the United States.

“Fabian and Ryan each bring a distinctive energy to the world Rachel Reid has created,” series creator Jacob Tierney said in a statement on August 25. “They are bold, complicated, and deeply compelling characters, and finding actors who could really take on all of those different sides was so important to us. Daniel and Shaheen bring such confidence and emotional honesty to the roles. We can’t wait for audiences to see what they do with Fabian and Ryan and how they make these characters their own.”

Heated Rivalry, Season 2 Premiere, Spring 2027, HBO Max