The Voice beats BGT with twice as many viewers
THE Voice delivered yet another ratings defeat to Britain’s Got Talent this weekend.
The BBC’S singing contest brought in twice as many viewers as Simon Cowell’s ITV talent show between 8pm and 8.20pm, when the two went head-to-head.
The Voice averaged 11.8million for the period, compared with 5.8million for Britain’s Got Talent.
The BBC had given its programme an earlier slot, beginning at 7pm, to reduce the amount of time it spends competing directly with ITV’S show.
The corporation had feared the move would cost it viewers – but its lead for the period actually increased.
From an initial two million, it jumped to four million last week – but Saturday’s difference is the biggest yet.
Overall ratings put Britain’s Got Talent slightly ahead, with 12.2million compared with 12.1million for The Voice, although this may be due to the latter’s earlier start.
Critics had questioned whether the BBC was right to spend £ 22million on importing the Dutch format, but audiences have flocked to the programme, which has contestants taking part in blind auditions so they are judged purely on the quality of their vocals. In the latest
‘That song was special to me’
episodes, coaches Will.i.am and Jessie J were moved to tears by 27-year-old Jaz Ellington.
The contestant showed his talent with a cover of Ed Sheeran’s A-team – but became the talk of the nation after singing Ordinary People, which Will.i.am wrote with singer John Legend.
Ellington, from London, said he turned to music after his best friend was murdered in an apparent gang attack.
Fabian Ricketts was shot in the heart following a fight outside a bar. Three men were cleared at trial at the Old Bailey.
Ellington, who attended the Brit School in the same year as Leona Lewis, said he was heartbroken by the loss. ‘It was madness. I felt numb. There was not really a proper conclusion to it,’ he said.
‘It was painful. When you see it yourself, it’s madness. People have said it was gang-related, but I didn’t know the gangland side of things.
‘ I didn’t know that side of Fabian’s personality.’
Of the song Ellington chose after he was unusually asked to perform for a second time, Will.i.am confessed: ‘That song was special to me. John Legend and myself went and wrote that song. I was talking about a relationship that I was in for nine years of my life. A person who took care of me when I was broke and poor.’
The Voice’s success in the ratings has prompted an embarrassing climb- down for Cowell and ITV.
The station’s bosses are now hoping to save face by moving its programme to a later slot.
From next Saturday, Britain’s Got Talent will start at 8.30pm. The Voice will continue to begin at 7pm.