£250,000 BGT dog caught up in fakery storm
BGT winner reveals a stunt double was used for collie’s crowd-pleasing rope walk
Double act: Britain’s Got Talent winner Jules O’Dwyer with her border collie Matisse
BRITAIN’S Got Talent bosses were forced to apologise last night after it emerged that the performing dog act that won the series had used a stunt double to carry out a showstopping trick.
Dog trainer Jules O’Dwyer, 49, and her border collie Matisse stunned more than 13million viewers on Sunday night to scoop the £250,000 prize money and a place in this year’s Royal Variety Performance.
Their spectacular routine – which seemingly saw the animal complete a daring tightrope walk – cast seven-year-old Matisse as a ‘sausage thief ’ with Miss O’Dwyer playing a police officer attempting to capture him. Matisse is finally seen feeding the sausages to a three-legged dog called Skippy.
The duo triumphed after securing 22.6 per cent of the 4.5million votes cast, pipping magician Jamie Raven by just 2.2 per cent of the vote. Simon Cowell called it ‘one of the best dog acts we’ve ever seen’.
However, Miss O’Dwyer yesterday admitted an identical border collie called Chase had actually performed the tightrope walk mid-way through the act because Matisse was ‘afraid of heights’ and less experienced at the risky stunt. The switch occurred after Matisse disappeared behind a door, before he later returned to complete the routine.
Although production staff were aware that another dog was being used, Cowell and the rest of the panel did not know.
Four-year-old Chase – who wore a collar with his name on it during the tightrope walk – was not revealed to fans on stage following the routine and the pair had only performed under
‘No intention to mislead’
the name ‘Jules and Matisse’. Viewers vented their anger on Twitter, with Fiona Fairbairn writing: ‘So it turns out the dog on the tightrope was a double for Matisse on BGT? Basically conning the public! Shameful!’
Regulator Ofcom is considering an official investigation after 14 voters complained that they had been ‘misled’ by the show. ITV received a further 16 complaints.
However, Miss O’Dwyer, who trains guide dogs in Belgium after moving from Black- pool 17 years ago, said she was stunned by the reaction. She pointed out that Chase had also featured in her semi-final performance on Tuesday – something the audience and viewers were alerted to – and that she had also referenced him in an interview ahead of her final performance.
On ITV’s Lorraine she said: ‘Matisse is a little bit afraid of heights so although he could officially do it, Chase is the action dog, so he plays the double for him.’
She told the Daily Mail: ‘It was never the intention to mislead people. Chase was the more advanced at that trick – it fitted into our story so we decided to put it in. I chose to split the act up so as not to overwork my dogs.’ Asked why Chase hadn’t been revealed to viewers at the end of the routine, she added: ‘It was a live show and technically not possible to get the second dog around the set and out on to the stage in time. I’m not there to pull my dogs from pillar to post.’
A spokesman for the producers of Britain’s Got Talent said last night: ‘During the competition viewers have seen that Jules’ act involves a team of dogs, including Chase and Skippy, alongside starring dog Matisse. We are sorry if this was not made clearer to the judges and viewers at home during their final performance.’