Bigger, Greater... & even more Talent
Judges & hosts say this year’s chaotic BGT is the best ever
AFTER 17 years, you’d have thought Britain would run out of talent by now – but according to the judges 2024 is shaping up to be one of the strongest series so far.
Promising an “absolute party” in which the rulebook appears to have been chucked out the window, Britain’s Got Talent head judge Simon Cowell also reckons he’s already worked out who this year’s winner will be.
He let slip that he and fellow judges Amanda Holden, Bruno Tonioli and Alesha Dixon, plus hosts Ant and Dec, have their eye on a particular solo performer to triumph.
And while he’s keeping tight-lipped over who that person is, one very strong contender is an opera singer who has been described as the best classical vocalist since Paul Potts was crowned the first winner.
Simon reveals: “When we were discussing the finals, we went round the room and said who we think might win, and there was one person everyone gravitated towards.
It’s going to be interesting. I’m excited for this year, let’s see who the public picks as their winner.”
That said, he admits they could all be way off the mark when it comes to who clinches the £250,000 cash and Royal Variety Performance slot.
“You can just never predict who the public will love,” he says.
Amanda says the singer in question blew them all away: “His voice was, I think, one of the most beautiful, classic and enriching voices we’ve ever heard. I was like, ‘Wow, there’s a potential winner’.”
This year’s show is also charting new territory with the largest number of golden buzzer acts, who will go straight through to the live finals.
In the old days it was always five votes – one each for the judges plus one for Ant and Dec together. But this year the total reached nine, as some simply couldn’t stop themselves reacting to the performance they were witnessing.
“I thought there were about another 17 acts who easily could have had a golden buzzer,” Simon, 64, says. “That’s how good the talent is this year.”
Simon says he loves the new wild enthusiasm that he encountered this year, which left producers struggling to exert control over proceedings.
“It is kind of like being back at school,” he says. “The teachers keep coming in saying, ‘Can we try and keep the golden buzzers down?’ And they know we’ve got absolutely no intention of doing that.”
During the auditions, which took place in Manchester and London, one of Simon’s favourite moments came when Bruno broke the buzzer with his excitement. “I just knew something like that was going to happen,” he laughs. “I love it when things go wrong or the unexpected happens, otherwise it’s boring.”
He is quietly confident that this year’s series will prove popular as it has “heart, great stories and things we’d never seen before. You don’t want to just keep repeating the same thing year on year”.
Amanda, 53, picks out two golden buzzer acts – a singer who she compares
ANT
We just had to run out there and do it [push the golden buzzer]
AMANDA
I’d love a crowd to win, to have a life-changing experience together
to Adele, describing her as “really down to Earth, very funny”. The
Heart breakfast presenter thought she was a stand-up at first.
She says: “She’s a little bit rough around the edges, but super charming, very charismatic, very relatable.
“I thought, ‘God, she’s a little star’. The version of the song she sang was so amazing – for it to have had such an impact, it really affected me.”
Her second lunge for the golden buzzer comes during a comedy act which had her “howling”. “I’ve never seen anything like it ever, ever, ever,” she insists. “I got the giggles because
I kept thinking of what my husband and kids would think when they were watching it. They won’t see it coming.
“He deserves the golden buzzer just for thinking up that act.”
Presenters Ant and Dec – who have just stepped down from Saturday Night Takeaway after 20 years – feel they’ve also backed a performance which is completely fresh.
“Even in our 17th series, we have
had stuff we’ve never seen before,” Dec marvels. “We’ve certainly not had an extreme pogo-stick act before… alongside several other acts that are still surprising us after all these years.”
Ant adds: “We just had to run out there and do it.”
Despite backing the opera singer and her two golden buzzer acts, Amanda says she’d still like to see a choir clinch the prize. “I’d absolutely love a crowd of people to win Britain’s Got Talent – to be able to split the money and have a life-changing experience together,” she explains.
Alesha agrees: “It’s such a moment to perform at The Royal Variety Show and it would be lovely to see all of those people getting to share that memory together.”
The former pop star, 45, is easily the most controlled on the panel, sticking with a single golden buzzer selection.
“I quite like following rules – I’m very rebellious in my nature, but I do like a bit of structure,” she says.
“I only pressed my golden buzzer once because, for me, it gives more value to the act I’ve pressed it for.”
She admits that sitting next to former Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno has its “pros and cons”.
“It’s like sitting next to an excitable puppy or toddler,” she laughs. “Bruno gives you that lift in a session when you need a pick-me-up – he just injects that passion and that’s always appreciated. But, like any toddler or puppy, occasionally they need to be told to sit down and behave.”
The Italian, 68, who replaced David Walliams, loved making his debut last year, and says it was a no-brainer when he was asked to return. “As long as they want me, I’m on it, because they allow me to be myself,” he says.
He said he felt enormously touched when audiences started to chant his name. “It surprises me every time.” he gasps. “It means a lot to me. I never take that for granted.”
Britain’s Got Talent returns Saturday at 7.30pm and Sunday at 7.40pm on Virgin Media One.
SIMON
‘‘
Another 17 acts could’ve had a golden buzzer, that’s how good the talent is
BRUNO
‘‘
As long as they want me, I’m on it, because they allow me to be myself ALESHA ‘‘
I only pressed my golden buzzer once as that gives more value to the act
DEC
‘‘
Even in our 17th series, we’ve had stuff that we’ve never seen before