WHEN 10-year-old singing sensation Hollie Steel broke down in tears live on stage in front of 15 million viewers on Friday night's Britain’s Got Talent, the nation held its breath.

But no-one was more anxious than Hollie’s mother Nina Steel.

“We haven't watched it back yet. It's still too heart-wrenching,” said Nina, 37, of Huncoat.

“Hollie has been on stage lots of times but that's never happened before.

"She took a big gulp of air in the wrong place and missed a word.

"Then she saw someone's face in the audience and missed another word.

"Before she knew it she'd missed a whole line. Anybody who knows Hollie will know she’s a perfectionist and can't cope not doing something perfect.

"That's just her personality. I think the whole situation just overwhelmed her.”

The incident, in which Hollie stopped mid-song then tearfully begged to be allowed to start again, has prompted critics to blast Simon Cowell's talent show for allowing children to appear.

Hollie's parents Nina and Jason Steel have also come under fire, with internet users posting messages on forums branding Nina a “pushy mum”.

But Nina, an audiologist at St Peter's Centre, Burnley, claims she would never force her daughter into doing anything she didn’t want to.

“Hollie doesn't need pushing. If anything, she pushes us,” said Nina.

“Sometimes, like any 10-year-old, she doesn't want to practise and I say ‘Come on Hollie, you're going to have to practice’ but she loves singing, it's what she wants to do with her life.

"She sings all the time. It's like she can't stop herself.

"I don't understand why people are saying I'm a pushy mum because you can see quite clearly that it wasn't me asking for her to be given another chance, it was Hollie.

"She was begging to sing her song again. She was absolutely heartbroken when it went wrong.

“I think it’s impossible to get a kid to perform well if they're being pushed.

"Their heart won't be in it and so they’re unlikely to deliver a good performance. I think anybody who has seen Hollie sing can see that she puts her heart and soul into it.”

Nina has clear ideas about how parents of performing children should behave.

“As a parent you shouldn’t push them, but you should break your back to make sure their dreams come true,” she said.

“If they want to do dance lessons you might have to jobs" target="_blank">work hard to pay for them, or you might have to play taxi driver like I do. But that's not pushing them. It’s making it possible for them.”

Ann Vickers — mother of 17-year-old Accrington singer Diane Vickers, who stormed into the spotlight after reaching the semi-finals of X Factor last year — agreed.

“When Diana was growing up singing came naturally to her. Even as a small child she'd be sitting in the back of the car singing her heart out.

"It was natural for her to join the school choir and have singing lessons.

"She didn’t need pushing because it’s all she's ever wanted to do,” said Ann.

“Diana is still young and, while she is enjoying the experience, she still needs our support.

"Although she's in London at the moment writing her album, I speak to her on the phone every day.”

Lisa Hyatt, of Pendle, mother of 10-year-old Krista, one half of the Cheeky Monkeys dance duo who appeared on Britain's Got Talent last year, said: “You jobs" target="_blank">work hard to pay for their dance lessons but the determination and drive has to come from them.”