Ireland’s Got Talent
With the big talent show up and running, Andrea Byrne goes behind the scenes and also meets the four judges
T “he whole thing is bigger, brighter, glossier, and the talent is better”, says Ireland’s Got Talent judge Michelle Visage. She’s describing the second series of the popular talent and variety show, which returned recently to Virgin Media One. Perched on a stool next to her, fellow judge Denise Van Outen agrees: “Everything has gotten better, which means it’s a tougher competition, tougher to judge and also tougher for everyone entering. You can see it with some of the dance troupes when they perform, and they think they’re great, but when you turn around to them and say, we’ve seen better than you, they’re in shock”.
I’m meeting the judges on a special ‘meet the press day’ at Ireland’s Got Talent, which coincides with the last day of auditions. It’s been described as an ‘absolute beast’ of a show by its producer Darren Smith and judging by the huge number of sta , contestants and buzzed up audience members in circulation in the foyer of the Helix theatre in north Dublin, it’s not hard to see what he means.
A er a tour of the backstage area, we’re brought to meet the two female judges, who are fresh out of hair and make-up and looking incredibly glamorous for a Monday morning: Denise in a pale pink lace dress and Michelle in full-on sequins. Was it an easy decision to sign up for the second series? “I couldn’t wait to come back,” replies Denise, who lives in the UK, “even a er the last series, we were all really hoping we’d get a recommission. It’s quite rare to work on a production where you all get on so well. It’s really genuine. We have a real laugh. In terms of the judging panel, we all bring something di erent. And it’s just a really good balance I think”, she says, insisting that the judges keep in touch a er the show. “Yes, we have a group Whatsapp, Louis is not on it but we send each other silly videos and chat on it.” Michelle interjects, “Louis refuses to download Whatsapp. He doesn’t want to be bothered.” Denise has another idea why the Mayo man shuns the popular app, “He doesn’t want anything he talks about in print,” she laughs.
e rst series of Ireland’s Got Talent, which was a roaring ratings success, was won by Cork-based dance troupe RDC, but they weren’t the only acts from the series to enjoy a measure of celebrity. In fact, 81-year-old Evelyn Williams is now the show’s most watched audition with over 25 million views online. It’s the all-welcome, non-ageist nature of the show that Michelle loves.
“It’s o en the mentality of the world that life ends at 30. In this age of social media, nobody thinks they’re worth anything, so it’s really inspiring, really good for women in particular to know that you don’t have to ever stop doing what you love doing and you’re worthy and you matter. It’s important for people to go for their dreams no matter how old they are.”
At the other end of the age spectrum, with children as young as eight auditioning, the judges are very careful with their critiques. “Michelle and I are both mothers and I started in the industry when I was seven years old, so we handle with care.” Denise explains
A er 20 minutes with the female judges, who are clearly great pals, the boys are on the way. Louis Walsh and Jason Byrne arrive ve minutes later. A few days before, the show’s host, Lucy Kennedy, said that Louis is grumpier this year, which may explain why, when each journalist announces the publication they work for, Louis retorts with a sharp barb. He does, however, have nothing but good to say about the show and his involvement in it. “ is is great, totally genuine, because I’ve worked on a lot of these shows and this just works. is panel just works and we take the p**s out of each other a lot but that’s a good sign, because we are very comfortable with each other.” Unlike e X Factor, which Walsh was involved with for 13 seasons, there is less for the judges to do on Ireland’s Got Talent. “ is really is easy. We just sit there and we don’t have to mentor them and we have fun.” Jason Byrne is one of the country’s bestknown comics, so does he think the show could discover some talented comedians? “It’s hard to do stand-up in that room,” he says, diplomatically, with Louis interjecting matter-of-factly, “ ere was nobody great.” Details of the contestants taking part are kept under wraps until the show airs, but Denise and Michelle did let slip that Zacc Milne, who made it to the semi- nal last year, is back again. is time though, he is choreographing a young dance troupe. All four judges reveal that we can expect more top quality singers this year – in fact, such was the level of talent that the judges had used up all four golden buzzers before the last day of auditions. Ireland’s de nitely Got Talent.
This panel just works and we take the p**s out of each other a lot but that’s a good sign