Roll up roll up...

circus is back in The Britain’s Got Talent the judges say, the acts town – and this year, than ever are crazier (and scarier)

David Walliams is no stranger to a sequin. He pitched up for our photocall to promote the new series of Britain’s Got Talent in a rather startling shorts-and-vest combo that featured the Union Jack in sequins. So far, so terrifying. He chose it to wind up Simon Cowell. ‘He hates that sort of energy around him. I like to embarrass Simon because he’d never do anything like that himself. I like that outfit. I thought I looked hideous in it, but I also thought, “That’s OK, because hopefully it’s funny”.’

Sequins aside, David insists he’s normally the most low-key of the Britain’s Got Talent judges, although he does make the others sound like off-the-scale divas. ‘I’m very low maintenance. I’m the person with the smallest entourage. I just arrive on time and do what I’m told. Then I’d say Alesha is the next most normal one, then Amanda, and then Simon. He’s always late and blames it on me. He tells the audience that we’re late because I was eating a three-course meal, or I never wanted to come to Manchester in the first place.’

Today, fresh from filming the auditions, David is bemused that Simon is eulogising over a comedian. In David’s book, Simon doesn’t have a sense of humour. ‘It’s his way of trying to convince us that he does. He doesn’t get jokes, because he doesn’t live in the real world. If you make a joke about a supermarket bag for life or something, he’s just completely lost. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t really live in that world.’

All the judges on BGT are slightly bonkers. If David is breezy and bitchy (not enough to get fired, but still), Amanda Holden is bewitched. She thinks she might be possessed, actually. One of the acts seems to have seeped into her psyche. ‘We’ve gone to the dark side a bit this year,’ she says. ‘This woman came on. She did magic, mind-reading and she was a bit psychic. It was horrific!’

She’s quite breathless as she relates how she was a part of this bizarre act, an assistant almost. Like Debbie McGee? ‘She took me away and the cameras followed,’ says Amanda. ‘We went down into the bowels of the London Palladium theatre. It was like being in an episode of Most Haunted. She kind of predicted something and that person – or the embodiment of them – appeared and there was writing on the wall. It was horrifying!’

Alesha Dixon lets out one of her laughs, the ones that make the furniture shake. ‘She picked the right person to terrify. Amanda was genuinely petrified, you could see it. The rest of us were on the edge of our seats. The only thing missing was the popcorn.’

How odd. Aren’t TV talent shows supposed to be full of sweet kids singing? Not this year, not entirely. The fact the line-up is more barmy than ever delights Simon Cowell, who has emerged from the shadows to share his thoughts. He’s thrilled that this year there are more danger acts, because, you know, it adds that frisson of unpredictability.

‘When I started doing these shows in 2001, every young kid wanted to be a singer. Now they come on wanting to be magicians, acrobats, singers still, yes, but also comedians. It’s unbelievable to watch some of the stunt acts we have on now. Obviously, though, as I’m watching, I’m thinking, “If this goes wrong, my television career is over.”’

The eclectic mix of acts – here a dancing dog, there a unicyclist – has always been the charm of BGT. This year they’ve embraced the circus feel. Simon mentions Hugh Jackman’s PT Barnum film The Greatest Showman several times, saying it has changed the landscape of the entertainment industry. ‘It is a bit of a circus this year, which is a good thing. Maybe it comes off the back of The Greatest Showman, because there is more of an appetite for those sorts of acts.’

It’s certainly keeping them all in jobs. Simon had a wobble a year

ago, wondering what the future held for the talent show. ‘I couldn’t read the market. I was thinking, “I don’t know where we fit in right now.” But the success of The Greatest Showman has been good for us, it’s made those kinds of variety acts popular again.’

This is the 13th year of BGT. Unlucky, some may say. Well, mostly Amanda. ‘We had an all-girl dancing group called The Coven. They didn’t speak at all. We got no conversation out of them. They were quite scary! And there have also been some amazing mindbenders, trickery stuff. I keep saying to Simon, “Do you think all this dark stuff is because it’s our 13th year?” He’s quite superstitious. He’ll tell you we’re skipping a year, so it’s year 14. I don’t think we’re cursed by it, but if one of us is going to disappear in a puff of smoke it will be David.’

Obviously, you can’t have a TV talent show without some heartwarming moments too, and this series seems to have those. By all accounts, David has needed the tissues a few times. A powerful rendition by a Grenfell Tower survivor moved him to tears (‘I don’t live far away. I go past it quite a lot and I think about it a lot’), as did an act that filled the stage with an army of children. ‘Sometimes it’s hard to define why you’re moved by an act, but there were 50 kids all singing and dancing and it was just perfect. It was happy tears. What was special was they were ordinary kids, not professional entertainers. They came from school to be on BGT, so it’s a very different story to that of the person who’s been around the block and never quite made it.’

Alesha says that for her the joy of the show is that ‘I always know I’m going to be surprised’. Mind you, for her the biggest entertainment factor comes from the judges’ desk. ‘Every year David goads Simon and I think, “He’ll give up this year”. But there’s no sign of it. They have huge egos, it’s all, “I’ve got three National Television Awards, how many do you have?”, that sort of thing. It’s so funny and genuine, you couldn’t design it.’

Doesn’t she want to knock their heads together at times? Another loud laugh, then she explains her background in the girl band MisTeeq was good training in getting on with people. ‘I was in a girl group for six years. No one is more schooled in how to get along.’

Amanda pitches in to say that while a lot of TV shows foster fake camaraderie, the banter between this lot is 100% real. ‘It’s nice to be part of a TV family where we can be ourselves, say what we want. Simon has always encouraged bad behaviour, so there’s no political correctness...’

Obviously the Happy Family vibe took a hit last year, when presenter Ant McPartlin exited the show for