BGT makes a golden era return
THE panellists and presenters of Britain’s Got Talent win gold for old-school glamour as they prepare to bring the show back this weekend.
David Walliams, Alesha Dixon, Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden will be judging the latest crop of hopefuls while Ant and Dec will try to soothe nerves before they go on stage.
Show chief Simon, 60, revealed the ITV series, which starts on Saturday, will be returning to its roots. He said: “I wanted it to feel more like it did when we first started, to bring it back to the Paul Potts, Connie Talbots, you know?
“[Opera singer] Paul was working at a phone shop and came on to have a go, and now look at his career. That’s what we set out to do with this in the first place. It should be escapism.
“Like with Paul, he famously tossed a coin in the air over whether he should audition or not, and now he’s selling out tours. The show changed his life.”
And proud dad Simon said we may see his son Eric grace the BGT stage one day. “He’s a great little dancer... he’s got rhythm and I’ve actually just bought him a drum kit, which he adores,” he said of the six-year-old, whose mum is Lauren Silverman. “We have our own BGT in my living room... it’s constant. Some of his mates really have got talent so I’m like, ‘Look, if you want to come on the show one year then come on!’”
Amanda, 49, said the 14th series will be an antidote to the misery caused by coronavirus. She explained: “It’s a family show, it’s warm, fun, and we celebrate Britain like no other show on TV right now. BGT is where we showcase our nation at its best. I don’t think you can top it.” Meanwhile host Ant McPartlin, 44, said he thinks fatherhood has changed Simon’s response to the acts.
Ant said: “Everything [Simon] sees that he would normally have buzzed off in years gone by, now he’s like, ‘My son would love that.’ So, he tends to put them through. Like this year we have a keyboard-playing dinosaur, what?”
Ant also said the new series features more inexperienced performers than usual. “What we’ve had this year is people just giving it a go. What I mean is, we ask them who’s seen their act and they tell us no one!”