Stephen Mulhern:
With a landmark 12th series around the corner, Closer’s Hannah Wright caught up with Britain’s Got More Talent host Stephen Mulhern at the London Palladium theatre, teeming with all things dogs, singers and sequins for a busy day of auditions…
“There are no divas on BGT”
It’s the final day of the London I heat of Britain’s Got Talent auditions and I’m led into a minuscule TV studio where Stephen Mulhern is gyrating and thrusting his hips while he tries to emulate the “skills” of the latest wannabe to walk through the doors for his popular ITV2 spin-off show.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead (this hosting lark is exhausting work), he calls for his make-up artist (Ant Mcpartlin’s estranged wife, Lisa Armstrong) to mop his glistening brow – then he’s ready to dish the dirt on judges David Walliams, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.
The presenter is also happy to have a cheeky dig at showbiz pals Ant and Dec in our interview behind the scenes at the BGT auditions, which were filmed before Ant was charged with drink driving. He has since stepped down from his TV commitments to go into rehab, and it’s rumoured that Dec will take on BGT presenting duties solo when it comes to the lives shows, though this had not been confirmed by BGT as Closer went to press (Ant will still be on-screen during the audition episodes).
“I tell you what I’ve noticed this series,” confides Stephen when we meet. “Ant and Dec have a lot of sweets backstage; namely Minstrels and Maltesers. I’m like, ‘What’s going on here?’ I’m not allowed to have anything!”
Stephen, 41, has been part of the hit show since the start and tells us, “We all 100 per cent get on – and there are no divas. Alesha is like the cool judge, David is the joker and Amanda is the all-rounder star of stage and screen. Then obviously Simon is the boss!”
AFTER-SHOW GOSSIP
When the auditions got underway, Stephen and the judges, plus Ant and Dec, stayed in hotels. He told us, “It’s brilliant, because after filming we all go back to the hotel, give it five or ten minutes – and then we’ll be in the bar. There’s no way you can come from audition day and go, ‘Right everybody, I’m off to bed!’
“We have a good gossip and I’m always amazed at how much we can eat so late! We all socialise, though David is the most disciplined and only ever has one cocktail. What does Simon drink? No – Simon doesn’t come to the bar…”
On the day Closer is invited to soak up the BGT atmosphere, Simon is running late (“I think he’s broken a tooth,” jokes Amanda). Not to worry, because David has a life-size cardboard cut-out of the boss man himself, which he mutters to affectionately as the show goes on. There are high-fives between pals Alesha and Amanda, who sit giggling and gossiping. The auditorium is freezing, but Amanda doesn’t seem to mind, looking stunning in a strappy ’50s-style frock, and dipping into a bowl of coconut pieces when she’s not on camera.
BEST YEAR YET
By the end of the day we’ve witnessed singing military personnel, Swarovski crystal-wearing chihuahuas, a bloke wielding a chainsaw and a schoolgirl singer, not to mention an OAP happy to discuss her “gentlemen lovers.”
Stephen adds, “It’s a fun job and a good laugh. You just don’t know what’s going to happen next. I don’t know where the talent comes from – it just seems to get better and better every year.”