BRITS IT’S A RISK FOR WORLD TO TAKE ON
Judge speaks out as host of homegrown acts crash out of show
DAVID Walliams has admitted it is a “risk” for high-profile UK stars to take part in Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions – as a slew of them crashed out.
So far just one British act – MerseyGirls – has made the final, with the other slots taken by Germans, Ukrainians and Americans.
Paul Potts, Lost Voice Guy and Ashleigh and Sully are some of the British acts to be dumped out of the competition.
Judge David, 48, said: “I think it is a risk, because you’re a winner already, aren’t you?
“But then I think the show’s warm and even if you don’t necessarily get through to the final, it’s not a humiliation, is it?
“It’s just the audience voted for someone else, so hopefully no one will come away feeling like, ‘Oh, I regret it’.
“The acts all want to do it because they love BGT, they enjoy being back on TV regardless of how far they get in the competition.
“Also it’s kind of interesting to follow up on people’s stories. You
realise the show’s been going 13 years, so you see people like Connie Talbot and Paul Potts – who were on the first series – and we get to find out how the show has changed their lives.”
Saturday’s show put MerseyGirls into the final with 11-year-old Germany’s Got Talent winner Alexa Lauenburger and her dancing dogs, who earned their place after hosts Ant and Dec hit the golden buzzer.
They beat off competition from Britain’s Got Talent finalists 100 Voices Of Gospel, as well as singer Jai McDowall, from Irvine. who won the show in 2011.
Ukranian sand artist Kseniya Simonova and US daredevil dad
and daughter duo Bello and Annaliese Nock won a place in the final the previous week.
But one of the biggest talking points surrounding the show was the surprise elimination of English tenor Potts, 48, who rose to fame after appearing on the first series of BGT in 2007. He has since had hit albums including the No1 record One Chance.
But his performance was not universally praised.
Simon Cowell told the ex-salesman: “I’m going to be honest with you, Paul, I thought you started shaky and halfway through the song it took me back to your first audition, which was you realising if you don’t hit the big notes it’s over.”
Paul later revealed he had been put off by a last-minute
change to the filming, which was handed to him by producers just moments before he went on stage.
He said: “I was a little frustrated with myself as after 15 run-throughs, production gave me a change of camera direction on my way to the stage and it left me looking for the camera that came from a different direction.”
Some critics suggested it looked as if he was sulking but he responded on Twitter: “That’s what I look like most of the time lol.”
Sharing a picture of himself at a BGT audition, he said: “I can prove it with this still from the original audition. I don’t do fake smiles but it doesn’t mean I am grumpy, sulky or feeling entitled.”
Jai said he was taking part to prove to Cowell he had been a
worthy winner after he was dropped from his record label shortly after the release of his debut album.
Cowell told him: “I owe you an apology for not giving you the support I should have given you at the time.
“I respect the fact that you have come back to make me look like an idiot and you look fantastic.”
But despite his kind words, the 33-year-old singer still crashed out.
Saturday’s show – also featuring Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden as judges – drew an average of just under five million viewers and a peak of 5.6million.
More than half of all young people watching TV in the UK watched BGT, which peaked with 53 per cent and 1.1million 16-34 year olds tuning in.