Britain’s Got Talent 2022 latest: Fans left fuming over Simon Cowell’s Golden Buzzer as ITV deny ‘fake audition’ claims
- How does the BGT golden buzzer work?
- Who are the Britain’s Got Talent judges?
- Britain’s Got Talent 2022 Winning prize explained
BRITAIN'S Got Talent returned for its second instalment yesterday but the show has been hit with 'fix' claims after Simon Cowell dished out his golden buzzer.
While Simon was blown away by Axel's gags about the pandemic and his pregnant girlfriend, some viewers were up in arms that he got the coveted golden buzzer.
One branded the decision a fix, pointing out that Axel already has a stand-up show on streaming service Amazon Prime - just as last night's golden buzzer, singer Loren Allred, was already a famous singer.
One vented: "So last night there was a golden buzzer for a singer with net worth of 2 million and a song in one of the biggest movies to ever exist and tonight's golden buzzer was an award winning comedian who has an amazon prime show??? wtf is happening this series?"
The news comes as Loren Allred was given a golden buzzer pass to the final by judge Amanda Holden.
It was later revealed that she was the voice behind The Greatest Showman song Never Enough, which also sparked multiple 'fix' claims.
Fans furiously took to social media to complain it was "unfair" and dub the show "a fix" as Loren, 32, sailed through.
Now, judge and creator Simon, has exclusively told The Sun that there will be LESS professional acts on the show than ever before.
Follow our Britain's Got Talent live blog for all the latest updates...
Amanda Holden’s raciest BGT outfits
AMANDA Holden has been part of the Britain's Got Talent judging panel since the show first hit TV screens in 2007.
So there's no surprise in that time that the TV star has made quite the impression on audiences, especially with her choice of outfits.
Fans of BGT will remember how Amanda dared to take the plunge in a stunning Julien Macdonald gown back in 2017.
The TV judge took to the stage in the gown, which featured a deep plunging neckline trailing all the way down to her stomach.
The eye-popping dress, which almost exposed her entire chest, wasn't popular with viewers - who took to Ofcom to complain.
Amanda's dress received 663 complaints over the gown - but she was left unfazed, hitting back that the complaints were "laughable".
She explained: "That dress was hysterical – it was Julien Macdonald. I had bits of fish wire underneath my breasts trying to hold that together.
"But, look, I'm from a small-chest family, plus you know I'm 48 years old. It's all quite laughable, but all everyone seems to talk about."
"It's been called another national crisis – but, oh no, I will not be covered up," she went on to joke.
'I was in tears for the whole day'
BRITAIN'S Got Talent singer Nick Edwards revealed his surprise audition on Saturday's show left him in tears all day.
The dad-of-two had less than an hour to compose himself and practice a self-penned track to perform in front of the judges.
It came after his mum and two young daughters surprised him by walking out on stage as he watched on from the audience.
They revealed they had entered him in the competition knowing full well he wouldn't have done it himself.
He managed to keep a handle on his nerves and received four yeses after receiving a standing ovation.
Appearing on today's This Morning, he told Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond: "I was in tears for the whole day pretty much. They gave me a short amount of time to warm up - 45mins. My family brought the guitar down, they [producers] said this is the song we want you to sing."
Britain’s Got Talent DENIES fix claims
BRITAIN'S Got Talent has denied a singing dad's emotional audition was set up during Saturday's show.
Dad-of-two Nick Edwards teared up in the audience as his mum and young daughters walked out on stage to reveal they'd signed him up to audition for the judges.
Some eagle-eyed viewers questioned the sweet moment's authenticity after spotting a microphone on Nick's shirt.
The show has explained the situation though, with a spokesman saying: "We loved welcoming back our BGT viewers back last night after a year away.
"To report or allude to anything being staged or contrived regarding Nick's audition would be false and incorrect.
"He was totally unsuspecting. We did this so we could mic him up without him suspecting a thing."
Amanda Holden sends temperatures soaring on holiday in sexy gold bikini
Amanda Holden has fans buzzing as she soaks up the sun on holiday.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge, 51, posed in a bikini from pal Tess Daly’s swimwear range Naia Beach while in LA with her family.
She was shown pressing the Golden Buzzer, in Saturday’s first auditions recordings on ITV.
Sharing pics online, she wrote: “Happy Easter Sunday.
"Did you all enjoy BGT?”
Fellow TV star Davina McCall, 54, commented, alongside laughing emojis: “You look way too good.
Furious Britain’s Got Talent viewers slam Simon Cowell
BRITAIN'S Got Talent viewers were outraged last night after Simon Cowell made a comment about "homegrown" talent amid a fix row.
The show's return at the weekend featured American professional singer Loren Allred receiving the first golden buzzer of the series, sending her straight through to the final.
Many viewers thought it defeated the purpose of the show: finding hidden talent and giving it a huge platform to shine.
However, in the second audition show, head judge Simon seemed oblivious to the international contingent on the show, telling his fellow panellists: "I love that the acts are homegrown and they did something special for this show."
One fan wrote on Twitter: "What was that about homegrown acts Simon?"
Another posted: "'The acts are homegrown'- Simon Cowell Yesterday's golden buzzer...?"
BGT series 15 launch episode draws in 6.1m viewers
Britain’s Got Talent returned to ITV with an average of 6.1 million viewers, the broadcaster has said.
Viewers saw an array of acts from a comedic robot to an original singer from The Greatest Showman as the talent show aired after two years.
The TV audience peaked at 7.2 million.
Filming of the 15th series had been scheduled to begin last January, however production was delayed and then postponed until 2022.
Saturday’s launch episode saw Loren Allred, 32, reveal during her audition that she was the voice behind the hit song Never Enough from 2018 musical film The Greatest Showman.
She admitted she was not known for the track as she was previously “more comfortable singing behind the scenes”, but now wanted to put a face to the song.
After performing a striking rendition of the track, the audience and judges appeared in awe, particularly Amanda Holden, who awarded her the coveted Golden Buzzer which automatically grants her a place in the live semi-finals.
The first episode saw Titan the Robot secure four yeses after spraying water out of its mechanical eyes, causing Holden and Alesha Dixon to hide under their desk.
Explained: Who are the past BGT winners?
BRITAIN’S Got Talent is back for a fifteenth series, with competitors across the country battling to become the 2022 champ.
Here are some of the past winners:
- Paul Potts – 2007
- George Sampson – 2008
- Diversity – 2009
- Spelbound – 2010
- Jai McDowell – 2011
- Ashleigh and Pudsey – 2012
- Attraction – 2013
- Collabro – 2014
- Jules O’Dwyer & Matisse – 2015
- Richard Jones – 2016
- Tokio Myers – 2017
- Lost Voice Guy – 2018
- Colin Thackery – 2019
- Jon Courtenay – 2020
Read more about the acts here.
‘I lost my £90k Britain’s Got Talent fortune’
BRITAIN’S Got Talent star Francine Lewis has revealed her heartbreak after being scammed out of £90,000 by a phoney stocks company.
The mum, 47, who shot to fame for her hilarious impressions of celebs in 2013, was swindled out of her savings after being tricked by the devious “brokers”.
She lost the life-changing £90,000 – which she had earned from her time on Britain’s Got Talent and from tours and corporate events she did after the show.
Devastated Francine told The Sun Online: “I had a little gut feeling. I spoke to the guys myself, they were so convincing, so even I got suckered in.
“Stupidly, I handed all this money over, went to my bank, drew it out.
“What was even worse, I handed them all my kids’ money that I had been saving from when they were born.
“That for me was the worst part of it. In the end, it ended up being a scam. That little bit of a gut, which I prayed wasn’t going to be right, was right in the end.”
Who are the judges this year?
Britain’s Got Talent will see the return of the judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams giving their verdict on each act that comes before them.
They will all be in charge of that dreaded buzzer again this year. If all four judges press it, it means game over for the acts.
How does the BGT golden buzzer work?
The golden buzzer is on the judges’ panel which, when pressed, means you are automatically granted a place in the Semi-Finals.
This will mean they will skip past the boot camp stage of the competition, ultimately giving them a head start.
Each judge, and hosts Ant & Dec have one opportunity per series to press it for any act they deem as worthy.
The golden buzzer was introduced in series eight, and has been an integral part since.
More about BGT
Episodes will be available on the ITV Hub after each episode has aired.
As always the BGT champion will walk away with a huge cash prize of £250,000 and spot on bill of the Royal Variety Performance.
The reigning champ from 2020 is comedy singer Jon Courtenay.
Of course, Geordie comedy duo Ant and Dec will host the talent competition once again.
Simon Cowell on BGT returning this year
Talking about missing out on a year of BGT for the first-time in the show’s history due to the pandemic, judge Simon Cowell said: “As much as I didn’t want to not make the show last year, we just couldn’t at that point, it would have been literally impossible.
“We had to stop it at the last moment – it was a difficult decision to make but it was the right one.
“I think off the back of that, when we did all get back together, we realised how much we enjoy making the show.
“We did miss each other, we get on and work well together.”
BGT’s Simon Cowell reveals retirement plans
SIMON Cowell has revealed when he plans to retire – and it might be a surprise to some.
With his Britain’s Got Talent contract ending in 2025, Simon has been looking to the future.
“I’ll never retire,” he said, speaking to The Sun from his mansion in Malibu.
“I would never, ever do that. I think you’ve got to have a job you hate to retire. Thank God I have a job I still love.”
He continued: “If you have a great idea and believe you can make it happen, there’s always the chance you can. This show is an example.
“It was dead in the water. I couldn’t get arrested with it.
“No one wanted to buy it. I just got really lucky that NBC bought it in America, because if they hadn’t we wouldn’t be having this conversation today. It was over.
“That’s the way thing happen sometimes I certainly wouldn’t have predicted then that however many years ago we’d be having a conversation like this still talking about a talent show.
“The great thing is there are still amazing people out there with great stories and talent they want to share.
“I look at this show like it’s a bubble. It’s a happy bubble, a funny bubble.
“It will hopefully still be around because we all need that escape sometimes.”
Asked when he’ll leave Britain’s Got Talent, he said: “I’ll be committing until 2025 – that’s when the contract runs to.”
Comedian secures Simon Cowell's golden buzzer on BGT with sharp wit
A comedian has won over judge Simon Cowell with his sharp wit on Britain's Got Talent and secured his coveted golden buzzer.
Reality TV supremo Cowell told Axel Blake, a 33-year-old property maintenance manager from west London, that the country "needed acts like him" after the difficult couple of years everyone has been through due to the pandemic.
When asked by Cowell if he had ever lost confidence in his act, Blake admitted he had, but that he was inspired by his family and wanted to teach his 12-year-old son, who was in the audience, to believe in himself.
During his stand-up routine, Blake brought humour to everything from naming his newborn Pfizer, nicknamed Pfiesha, as she was a pandemic baby, and the funny bickering arguments he gets into with his fiancee.
He also joked about bizarre happenings on the London Underground, saying: "Couple of weeks ago I saw a woman and she was doing her whole make-up, a couple of stops later she looked like a whole new person.
"I was so impressed I clapped it and she looked down on me like 'ew'. I thought 'You may be a nine out of 10 now but you were a minus two at King's Cross'."
That's a wrap!
Well, how are we all feeling after that then?
A ton of laughs, tears, disobedient dogs - and even a golden buzzer!
Same time next week, anyone? We'll be back on Saturday for more live coverage of BGT.
Come join us, you know you want to...
Stop what you are doing!
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Remember the name - he could go far this year...
Top of the class
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A standing ovation for the young teacher from West Sussex - and it's thoroughly deserved.
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Legion of fans
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Viewers sure seem to think so, anyway...
Back again so soon?
Dance act IMD Legion just appeared on the show - and some might even recognise them.
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But now they're back with a bang...
Wise words
Aneeshwar has just stunned social media after sharing his passion for the environment.
The entire judging panel even dubbed the seven-year-old as a "star of the future"; - and they might be right...
An adorable message
A lot of people would do no wrong in listening to young Aneeshwar.
His passion for all things planet earth have got the crowd on their feet!
What an admirable young man!
Simon says
Simon Cowell said he was pressured into pressing the golden buzzer for Axel Blake.
But it looks like the music mogul didn't need anyone to help him make up his mind, though.
That was a worthy golden buzzer in our eyes...
Golden buzzer alert!
Wow! Simon Cowell has just pressed the golden buzzer for Axel Blake!
Incredible scenes!
Bundle of laughs
Axel has got the audience in a fit of laughter!
He's a natural, that's for sure - and he's got a standing ovation from everyone.
They're even chanting his name!
"A comedy superstar is born," said David Walliams.
Who on earth saw that one coming?
The entire crowd is on their feet for Joy - and here comes David!
Who did it better, though?
