BGT chiefs bring in scouting teams to find wannabes for show BRIT OF A STRUGGLE TO FIND TALENT
‘I found my Voice thanks to George’ Al’s Strictly overlooked
BRITAIN’S Got Talent is struggling to find new acts.
Bosses now depend on talent scouts to fill their auditions after applications dried up.
They also have teams scouring the internet to find wannabes.
Series producer Charlie Irwin said: “When we started, tens of thousands of people applied.
“But numbers have dropped, so we have had to evolve the way we find people.
“We have a regional casting team and scouts for each genre that appears on the show.
“We have to make the show more accessible now. We have to go to people to encourage them to audition. A lot of the time people won’t come to us anymore. We ALESHA Dixon insists she hasn’t been asked to replace Len Goodman on Strictly Come Dancing. The pop babe was a judge on the BBC series for three years. But asked if she had been approached, Alesha admitted: “No, I haven’t.” She added: “Len will be difficult to replace. I know Anton Du Beke has been tipped for the spot, and I love SINGING sensation Michelle John says tragic George Michael gave her the courage to tackle The Voice.
She performed with him at the NetAid charity gig at London’s Wembley Stadium in 1999.
Michelle, left, told the Daily Star Sunday: “George was very kind. He was always concerned we were OK.
“I was one of his backing singers and when we first met him, we were quite timid.
“But he was like, ‘guys, come on, shine…be you!’. He really encouraged us and that really helped my confidence. He was such an amazing singer.” Michelle, 43, has worked with a host of music greats over the years including Eric Clapton, Annie Lennox and Carole King.
But she said recording alongside Mariah Carey was the most nerve-racking.
Bromley-based Michelle said: “I think Mariah is a true diva. She is the queen of the vocals. Her presence requires you to pay her your full attention. When you’re in the same room as her you think, ‘oh my gosh, OK’.
“It was daunting because she is a megastar. I’d listened to her and Whitney Houston growing up. So you don’t want to get it wrong. I didn’t want to get fired. “Her presence demands respect. I didn’t actually get to speak to her though.”
Michelle pulled off an amazing audition last night and will be mentored by will.i.am. ED GLEAVE need to go everywhere in the UK to encourage people to audition.
“It is hard but exciting at the same time.
“We have a team that scours the internet for viral sensations around the world. It is about encouraging people and getting in touch with people.”
Executive producer Clair Breen added: “The office scours the internet and we have regional Anton, but in America they have done the show with three judges, so I don’t see why they can’t do that here.”
Alesha is now fronting rival show Dance Dance Dance on ITV. She said: “This show isn’t trying to be Strictly. We’re not trying to take someone who can’t dance and turn them into a brilliant dancer – the contestants are at a good level of dancing.” ED GLEAVE TV Editor teams who spend weeks researching that area, contacting dance schools, music schools and agents to find out about events there before going out to visit these people.
“We are just expanding the search and making us more accessible. It is hard. You are constantly pushing for better and better and you have to push the level higher every year and it is tough.”
Since BGT started in 2007 a host of foreign versions have launched, making it tougher to find new acts.
Clair said: “We have to do more now. We are in a much more competitive environment. There are many more talent shows out there. Audience demand has got bigger and we have to try harder to cast the shows and get the amazing acts you enjoy watching.
“It gets 100% harder each year. The biggest brief is ‘Find something that we have not seen before’ or ‘Get something we have seen and we can put a twist on it’.
“It is really tough as there are tons of talent shows. It is not easily done.”
Auditions for this year’s series will kick off on Wednesday in Blackpool.
Charlie added: “A lot of the acts now who come on the show have agents and have managers because some of them are professionals.”
BGT will be back on TV in the spring with Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, David Walliams and Alesha Dixon returning as judges.