Diversity returning to BGT stage following kneeling controversy

Diversity will take to the stage once again in the Britain's Got Talent Christmas special.

The groups parked more than 24,000 complaints with a performance on the I TV programme earlier this year, which saw a white performer kneeling on the neck of the group's founder Ashley Banjo, in a reference to the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.

TV watchdog Ofcom dismissed the complaints, concluding that the routine' s "central message was a call for social cohesion and unity".

A dance super group, featuring 2009 winners Diversity, 2018 semi-finalists DVJ and season two winner George Sampson, will open the show with a "Christmas themed performance."

The Christmas Days how sees all four Britain's Got Talent judges perform for the first time after Banjo replaced an injured Simon Cowell on the 2020 panel.

Alesha Dixon will sing the Christmas classic Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, accompanied by former winner Tokio Myers on the piano.

David Walliams will front a comedy mashup, with the help of previous comedy acts from the show, and Amanda Holden will sing her Christmas single Home For Christmas with former winners Collabro.

The special, presented by Ant and Dec dressed up as elves, features some of the most memorable and talented acts from the past 14 years.

Holden said: "After this year, I think B GT on Christmas Day for the first time-ever will be a real tonic for every one. We celebrate everything it means to be British.”