DUBLIN SINGER-SONGWRITER Ryan O’Shaughnessy has qualified for the live finale of the latest series of Britain’s Got Talent – less than a week after being told he was being kicked off the show.

O’Shaughnessy, who won over judges with a self-penned song written to an unrequited love, had been temporarily booted after producers realised he was already under contract to a rival record company.

Britain’s Got Talent is co-produced by Syco TV, a joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Entertainment – while O’Shaughnessy was contracted to Universal Music having made it to the live finals on The Voice of Ireland earlier this year.

This meant that O’Shaughnessy had to be dropped from BGT – though he was later reinstated after being released from his Irish contract.

Having overcome his contract difficulties, O’Shaughnessy qualified directly for Saturday’s final following last night’s fourth semi-final, with another self-written song – ‘First Kiss’ – winning enough support to top the public televote.

After the performance, Cowell joked: “I wouldn’t worry about her because you are going to get so much action after this.”

Comedian David Walliams, also a judge in this year’s series, said the subject of the song was “doing you a favour because you are writing the most beautiful songs I have ever heard for her.”

The live final on Saturday night is expected to be watched by a TV audience of around 15 million.

The Dubliner – who has also appeared in Fair City as Mark Halpin – said he had entered BGT despite being under contract elsewhere because the Irish show had not allowed him to perform songs he had written himself.

O’Shaughnessy was eliminated in the first live show in The Voice of Ireland, having been among the bottom two acts in Brian Kennedy’s group after the public vote following the first live show – in which he performed a cover version of Justin Bieber’s ‘Baby’.

(YouTube credit: BritainsGotTalent09)