<Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> Official website </Td> </Tr> <P> Lee Ridley (born 31 December 1980) is an English stand - up comedian . Disabled since early life, and unable to speak, he is the first standup comedian in Britain to use a communication aid in his routines, performing them under the stage name of Lost Voice Guy . He rose to prominence in June 2018 after winning the 12th series of Britain's Got Talent . </P> <P> Ridley was originally from Consett, County Durham . At the age of six months he was diagnosed with a neurological form of cerebral palsy, brought about by a brain infection that left him in a coma for two months, which affected his movement and rendered him unable to speak . His disability in early life made it difficult to communicate with people, until the age of eight when he received his first communication device, while his education at a school for disabled children was aided by supportive teachers . Between 1999--2002, he studied journalism and online journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, achieving an undergraduate degree in the former, and a Masters Degree in the latter . In 2006, he worked as a journalist with the BBC and local newspapers, before taking on the role of online content manager for the city of Sunderland in 2007 . </P> <P> Ridley began performing comedy in 2012, having grown up with a love for it, including standup performances . His decision to perform standup himself came in the aftermath of a gig conducted by Ross Noble, in which Ridley encountered the comedian and challenged him on the quality of Noble's impersonation of Stephen Hawking, claiming he could do a far better impersonation of the renowned physicist . To formulate his routines, Ridley purchased an iPad voice synthesizer app called Speak It!, which he pre-programmed with sentences based on material he created . Following his first show, Ridley adapted his routine by selecting material that had received favourable audience reaction, and adopting a style of improvisation in which he occasionally created new material onstage through his synthesizer in real - time . His first successful show was at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013, although he was forced to cut this short after he developed pneumonia . </P>

How did the lost voice guy lose his voice