Beeb’s got talent?
Funnyman Lee: I laugh at myself to beat bullies
SIMON Cowell has hinted he could sound the dreaded buzzer for ITV – and take BGT to the BBC.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s Britain’s Got Talent final Cowell, 53, revealed he is now ready to talk after rebuffing a previous Beeb bid to poach the contest.
Losing it would be a huge blow to ITV – it is one of their biggest shows, pulling in 10million viewers.
Simon admitted: “You always wonder, would this show work better on the BBC? I’ve thought about that recently… do you always want to be in the same place?
“There have been no talks. They offered me a deal a few years ago. It’s something I’m thinking about now.”
The move would come at a huge cost, with sources saying the Beeb could have to splash out upwards of €55million a series to get hold of it.
BGT has proved to be an easy winner for ITV, keeping its ratings without execs having to tinker with the format.
It has kept the judging line-up of Simon, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and David Walliams for the past seven series.
In contrast, Cowell’s X Factor – also on ITV – has seen sinking figures, with regular changes to try to find a formula that works.
But music mogul Cowell believes change is key to keeping a show fresh – and he says he is delighted with one of the few alterations he has made to BGT.
He is adamant this series has been the best ever after moving the show to London’s Hammersmith Apollo from Elstree studios.
He said: “At Elstree last year, it was like getting into Fort Knox with all the barbed wire. We paid all this money and were trying to get this tiny box to look like a theatre.
“I thought, ‘Why don’t we just go to a theatre?’ To me, this feels like a completely different show. Being in a studio is very sterile.”
Another big change this series was out of Simon’s control. The formidable double act of Ant and Dec were split for the first time when Ant took a step back from his TV commitments after being convicted of drink-driving earlier this year. Dec went it alone on the live shows, winning him rave reviews.
Simon said: “Dec has been unbelievable. I saw his nerves in the first five minutes of the live shows.
“I could feel it for him. The night the lightning struck and we went off air, I made a quip about Ant – and in a weird way it just cleared the air. From that moment on Dec has owned the show.
“I’ve tremendous respect for him. He’s been a revelation.”
Despite Dec’s success, Simon insists there will always be a place for Ant, who split from his wife, BGT make-up artist Lisa Armstrong.
Simon said: “He’s not a bad person, he’s not the only person these things happen to. Lisa is still working on the show. She’s a great girl, I felt for her.
“Ant has taken a step back because his health is way more important. I’m almost certain he’ll be back next year – and we want him back.” Show supremo Cowell has also been taking a step back after falling down the stairs of his west London home last year, which he blamed on his relentless work schedule.
He has since ditched his mobile and scaled back business meetings.
The dad of one said: “I’ve not had a phone for 10 months. I thought, I’m not going to turn it on for a week, then I got to a month, then three or four months. It’s been good for my mental health. Before I saw things in black and white, now I see things in colour.
“Life is 100 per cent better without a phone – it doesn’t own you. There’s enough people around me that Lauren can contact them in an emergency.”
Rather than late-night calls, he now sits at home watching old Pink Panther and Dean Martin movies. And giving his verdict on who may take tonight’s £250,000 prize, Simon put his money on the funny, saying: “I’ve a strange feeling Micky P Kerr might win.
“I felt it when he walked on stage before he performed. He got the best reaction from the crowd, like he’d won last year and was walking on. It was bizarre. Whatever he does is not normal.”
janine.yaqoob@ trinitymirror.com BGT kicks off tonight at 7.30pm on
I’m almost certain Ant will be back next year – we want him back SIMON COWELL ON DEC’S ABSENT CO-PRESENTER
BGT favourite Lost Voice Guy has told how he was tormented by bullies as a child – but is now inspiring other disabled people.
The comedian, real name Lee Ridley, says humour helped to fend off jibes about his cerebral palsy.
Now Lee, hotly tipped to win the series tonight, says he would give some of his £250,000 prize money to the care workers who have supported him on his journey.
Sharp-witted Lee, 37, has won the nation’s hearts with disarming jokes about living with disability – and witty Simon Cowell put-downs.
His jokes are read aloud by his ipad because he is not able to talk.
He told the Sunday Mirror: “They [kids] probably weren’t being nasty on purpose, they didn’t understand cerebral palsy. That’s maybe why I started seeing the funny side of my disability.
STIGMA
“As long as I could laugh at myself, it meant other people couldn’t take the mick. I was taking some of the stigma away.”
Lee says he believes people are now more accepting, but added: “By getting up on stage, I hope I’m helping educate people as well.
“Hopefully a lot of kids will understand disability better.”
The Newcastle funnyman has been flooded with messages from parents of disabled children saying he gives them hope for the future.
He said: “It’s nice to know I’m a source of encouragement to people who are maybe quite worried about their children growing up in this world. “I’d like to think they can see that anyone can do anything if they want to.”
If he wins, he wants to “help the people who got me to where I am”. Lee said: “I have several support workers who help me get to all my gigs and my family have always supported me, so I’d buy them all something nice.”
Lee was last night 7/4 favourite as he takes on fellow comic Robert White, 40s-themed singing group D-day Darlings, solo singers Donchez Dacres, 60, and Calum Courtney, 10, and dance group DVT.