When Findlay Williamson stepped in front of cameras and celebrity judges for Channel 4’s Your Song, it was more than a television debut.
For behind the moment that captivated viewers and sent him through to the final of the television competition was a story shaped by profound loss, incredible resilience and a song that became “the final gift” from his mother.
Viewers were given a brief glimpse into the heartache that lay behind the 23-year-old trainee quantity surveyor’s song choice, Candy, by Paolo Nutini, which was delivered note-perfect in a performance that drew praise from judges Paloma Faith and Sam Ryder.
However, it was only a tiny snapshot of a dreadfully sad sequence of events that left Findlay and his two sisters as orphans, and of the remarkable courage that now drives the young family forward.
He had performed it in public only once before appearing on last weekend’s programme: at his mother’s Victoria’s request, he bravely sang the same Nutini song at her funeral in December 2024, strumming his guitar while sitting just a few feet away from her wicker coffin.
That poignant performance, recorded and shared online, went viral, leading to him catching the eye of Channel 4 scouts as they searched for hidden talent to appear on the new programme.
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Presented by Alison Hammond, it focuses on giving amateur performers a national stage to share a song that has a particular personal meaning.
For Findlay, the song choice could scarcely be more emotionally charged: not only forged by his mother’s wishes as she battled the final stages of breast cancer, it reflected years of personal turmoil that also robbed him of his father, Kevin.
He was just 17 years old when his father, a successful businessman, died in 2020 after an 18 month battle against stage four oesophageal cancer.
Just weeks before his death, mum Victoria was told the breast cancer she hoped she had beaten seven years earlier, was back and had spread to her spine, bowel and liver.
As Findlay, older sister Gaby, now 25, and Poppy, who is now 14, wrestled with the grief of losing their father, came the terrible realisation that they were to lose their mother too.
“We managed to get five or six full years of happy memories before my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 oesophageal cancer in 2018,” says Findlay.
“He was my main male role model, and I felt lost without him.
“I felt that I was now the man of the house, and I put a lot of pressure on myself that took its toll.”
“Then, when my mum’s health took a turn for the worse, I thought ‘I can’t do this again’.”
While the television show touched on the emotion behind his performance, untold was the heart-breaking day to day struggles to deal with grief and anxiety as the then 17-year-old and his older sister took on the burden of caring for Victoria in her final days and then the responsibilities of looking after little sister Poppy.
Away from the cameras, the siblings live in the family home in Ayr, still surrounded by their parents’ possessions, while caring for each other and holding down jobs and studies.
They have also poured their energies into fundraising, launching the Williamson Legacy Fund in dad Kevin's memory. Now a tribute to both their parents, so far it has raised more than £40,000 to support Worldwide Cancer Research.
Meanwhile, Gaby went on to launch a campaign and blog aimed at helping young people cope with grief.
“Poppy, is at a critical stage in life, with a lot to focus on at school,” says Findlay, a BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying student at Glasgow Caledonian University ( GCU), who also works with a Prestwick company.
“She has a lot to focus on at school, and is such a brave and strong character.
“She has had a horrible hand of cards dealt, she has been robbed of crucial time with her parents.
“Gaby and I got through school with our parents by our side, but she is under all the pressure of it, and we both feel responsible to help her through this stage so she can get to the other side.
“We want her to be happy and give her the best chance.”
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He says he’s turned grief into a ‘super power’, that’s given him the confidence and resilience to cope with whatever else life throws his way.
“I’ve learned to turn grief into a strength,” he adds.
“I try to use it like a superpower. I have had these experiences and because of those I look at different situations with a different perspective.
“I use the love and the cherished memories of my parents as courage to get through things in life that I used to find difficult.”
As mum Victoria’s health declined, Findlay and Gaby took on responsibilities of helping to care for her.
“I spent a lot of time with her, taking her for treatment, going for chemotherapy and talking to her consultant and having the difficult conversations,” he says.
“She was the benchmark mother who put her kids first and herself second and she had a great poker face, but I knew that fear and terror she felt.
“But she was terrified as any parent would be of leaving us behind.”
A few months before she died, Findlay nervously played her favourite song to her – the first time he had ever sung for anyone. The impromptu kitchen performance brought his mother to tears.
About a month later, she made a request that would send him on course for national recognition.
“She came into my room while I was playing and said she wanted to say something but didn’t know how,” he said. “Eventually, she asked if I would play the song at her funeral. It came as a massive shock.
“The least I could do was to honour that request.”
He performed the song in front of cameras in Edinburgh, watched by a crowd and with Eurovision performer Sam Ryder and singer Paloma Faith, who picked him to become one of the programme’s finalists.
He goes on to be mentored by one of the celebrities, who works with him in a future episode to perfect his performance for the final show alongside finalists from around the country.
He is sworn to secrecy over what happens next, but says the experience has been like a gift from beyond the grave.
“I genuinely believe this is a gift from them, I feel their presence and support all around and all the time throughout the journey of filming,” he adds.
“Whatever happens, happens.
“I’m pleased I’m able to continue my parents’ story and keep their memories alive and spread their message.”
Your Song is on Channel 4 on Sunday at 9pm. Find out more about the Williamson Legacy Fund here
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