What it's like to...Be on Britain's Got Talent: Jean Martyn talks audition, her acceptance and the whirlwind that followed

But five years ago it was the turn of retired music teacher Jean Martyn to steal the show and entertain millions of viewers with her organ-playing antics.

Her boundless energy and flamboyant sparkly jacket warmed the judges' hearts in her first live audition and her performance earned her a standing ovation with an impressed Michael McIntyre declaring that she had 'rocked' the stage.

It was actually the bubbly organist's husband Bob who applied to the show on her behalf after she had spotted an advert for it and asked him if he thought she was good enough to audition.

"He said 'if you don't try, you'll never know'. I didn't do anything about it but he did. He sent off the form and I received a letter back saying I had been chosen from 60,000 entries to audition.

"My first audition was at the NEC in Birmingham and I was there with so many different acts like dancers, magicians and dogs.

"It wasn't just a matter of waiting because before we went on to audition they were doing lots of filming of each of the acts and these clips become the promo films, if we got through.

"After quite a few hours, I went into a small room with two producers, a cameraman and my electric piano. I did my audition, they said 'thank you' and I walked out. It was all a bit surreal," recalls the 65-year-old, who lives in Brewood.

"On Christmas Eve I received a letter to say I was through to the live show in Manchester with the judges Michael McIntyre, David Hasselhoff and Amanda Holden so that was a lovely Christmas.

"On that day, I was the last to audition and it was 8.40pm – I had been there since 12pm just waiting to go on stage. I did my performance and the whole theatre stood up – it was absolutely mind-blowing."

Little did she know at the time but she would end up sailing through the next round and into the live final alongside Wolverhampton schoolboy MJ Mytton-Sanneh, who topped the public vote with his boyband New Bounce, in June 2011.

"It was a lovely experience and amazing that two local people would get through to the final of Britain's Got Talent," says Jean.

During the finale, she stormed through Grease hit You're The One That I Want and Buck Fizz's Making Your Mind Up and her arms and legs were a blur as she flashed beaming smiles at the cameras throughout.

"Everybody says my smile is infectious. I think my sparkly personality and my sparkly jackets are what I've become known for," she quips.

After finishing 10th overall, Jean went on to perform in front of thousands at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena as part of the 14-date UK-wide Britain's Got Talent tour.

This was just the beginning of a whirlwind journey for Jean, who had previously worked at Cannock Chase High and Huntington Primary schools. In the same year, she played a two-hour show at Wolverhampton Civic Hall and later appeared on Channel 5 show Big Brother and Loose Women, as well as Channel 4's The Paul O'Grady Show.

She has played at venues across the country including Butlins holiday camps and even at St James's Palace and Buckingham Palace.

Among her other highlights are playing to 32,000 people at a music festival in Dartmouth and performing at a Wolves match at Molineux on Boxing Day.

"Britain's Got Talent definitely changed my life but I didn't become a millionaire. A lot of people think if you go on Britain's Got Talent you will earn an absolute fortune but that's not the case at all.

"But it has certainly opened doors for me – and royal doors too. I never expected any of it when I first auditioned.

"It's funny because I can go from performing at St James's Palace to getting a call from a primary school to say they need a pianist to accompany the little children singing Christmas carols," says Jean.

The grandmother, who was dubbed the Boogie Queen during the talent competition, continues to have a busy schedule of performances and television appearances.

Recently she held a concert at St Mary the Virgin and St Chad church in Brewood in aid of the Cardiac Unit at New Cross Hospital, raising £1,000.

Next year, she will also be going on tour in Germany, Switzerland and Holland.

"I'm not hanging up my boots yet. I've got lots of exciting things happening next year. I'm loving every minute of it," she says.

And despite her Britain's Got Talent fame, Jean doesn't take anything for granted.

"You have to keep your feet on the ground and think 'what an incredible journey and how blessed am I to be on it'," she says.

Heather Large