'I'm a Britain's Got Talent finalist but I've only ever had £500 in the bank'

BGT finalist Vinnie McKee speaks to Yahoo UK about making the final of the ITV show

• Britain's Got Talent finalist Vinnie McKee, 30, first impressed tough judge Simon Cowell with his vocals, getting him the golden buzzer for the semi-final.

• Now he's in the final with a chance of winning the prize money and the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Performance.

• Here McKee takes Yahoo UK behind the scenes of his Britain's Got Talent journey, shares what we would spend the prize money on, and what to expect from him in the final on Saturday, 31 May.

If I won Britain's Got Talent, what would I spend the £250,000 prize money?

Do you know, I racked my brain about this because I never thought about it, but I think at first I would probably pass out! Because I don't think I've had any more than £500 in my bank.

We've had a really hard year in our family and my mum and dad have supported me my whole life. My mum is my best friend, and my dad is my best friend. We are such a close family. They're 70 this year. So I would probably get them a wee apartment so they don't have to use their pension to pay their rent anymore.

I'll get them a wee apartment, somewhere they can go and chill. Make sure they're cushy. I want them to enjoy it with me, and they can relax after everything that they've worked hard for.

I'm so happy and I feel so lucky that my mum and dad are getting to experience this with me. It's such an amazing part of my life that I'll never forget.

No matter what happens in the final, I feel like what an achievement to get there — do you know what I mean? I'm so proud of myself, and I'm so proud of everybody that's done that — they've all done so amazing. I'm looking forward to the final.

It's just been like the craziest month ever. My life has completely changed. I walk in the street, people recognise me, they ask for photos. People come up to me and just hug me! Randomly hug me and they'll say, "You are such a champion for Scotland." I'm like, "Oh thank you!"

Working 6-day weeks

I was back to work two days after the semi-final. I've been working right through it, but obviously, this is what I've done all my life since I was 18, so I've always worked in the holiday park.

My dream is to be a singer and this journey has been the most incredible experience in my life and I hope it never ends now. At the holiday park we work split shifts every day, so we work at daytime and in the evening. And that's six days a week. So I spoke to the bosses and they're very, very supportive and very excited about my Britain's Got Talent journey.

They've been giving me the time to practice in the daytime and I've been working in the nighttime, they've been giving me a nighttime, and I'll work in the daytime.

I've been doing that on and off now for the last couple of weeks and I've been practicing every minute that I can get. Do you know what? I'm really, really excited for my next song. I think this is gonna be the best performance I've given.

What to expect in BGT's final

I am taking another classic and I'm making it my own. I usually sing everything in my own way or like how I would... how I interpret it, and I think it's a lot to do with the emotion and how I feel about the lyrics and how I think it should be sung.

With this song, I think this is going to be the ultimate performance that I've done so far. I actually am doing some extra preparation for the final. I'm eating loads of healthy things.

I'm doing water bubbles every day which is like a technique that I've been using. So I've been seeing this woman called Annie, she's the vocal coach, she's amazing. She's bringing my voice on, opening up things that I've never done before. And that's why I'm so excited for the final because I think my voice is gonna show so many different parts to it. You put your straw in the water bottle and you blow on it to do all the scales and all the notes.

I've been doing things like this every day, making sure my vocal health is well, my health is well. And I'm trying to get as much sleep as possible.

Applying for Britain's Got Talent

One thing I've learned from Britain's Got Talent is everything happens for a reason. What's for you won't go by you.

Applying for Britain’s Got Talent this year was 'now or never'. It’s just been my 30th birthday and I thought this is my last chance really now. I need to take it!

Life is so short, my brother passed away last May and it broke the family a little bit. My mum's been heartbroken since then and I think he always used to say to me, "You need to apply for that." Then literally a month afterwards I did and then I ended up auditioning and it was a whole turnaround moment.

When the confetti fell on stage, I looked up to the sky and I just thought to myself: "Thanks for that." He was watching me that day.

Vinnie McKee told his story to Lily Waddell.

Britain's Got Talent continues at 7pm on Saturday on ITV1.