Blades of glory

Ukraine skating stars on a roll but there's anguish behind smiles

- SARAH ROBERTSON

For Ukrainian aerial roller skating duo Stardust, the chance to go far on this year's Britain's Got Talent means much more than mere personal gain.

Having escaped Russian bullets and bombs back home for a tilt at talent show glory, Yevhenii Yemelianenko and wife Vlada Kamyshnikova are not just in it for the £250,000 top prize.

Kyiv-raised Yevhenii, 27, says: "This is a good platform for us to help our country, to remind people about Ukraine.

"The thing our country needs is to always be remembered. For people to remember that we still need help, that we're still in this horrific situation."

The aerial skating couple were given the golden buzzer treatment by Simon Cowell on Saturday.

And they will be producing more pyrotechnic acrobatics when they return to compete for a place in the final during tonight's first live semi at London's Eventim Apollo.

But for Yevhenii and Dnipro-born Vlada, 25, the thought of their loved ones who remain in Ukraine is always on their minds.