Amanda Holden reveals first look at Britain’s Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician after Ant and Dec pull out of show

AMANDA Holden revealed the first look at the brand new Britain's Got Talent's spin-off.

The special themed show will focus entirely on the many spectacular magicians spawned by the format across the world.

TV judge Amanda, 51, shared a photo of the buzzers, with the four judges' names along the bottom.

The two-hour long show, which features legendary trickster Penn Jillette as a guest judge, will see 10 of the world's biggest names in magic compete for a £50,000 prize fund.

Amanda, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams will be behind the judging panel, with Penn replacing Simon Cowell who is busy with other filming commitments.

The one-off spectacular will invite acts like Marc Spelmann and Richard Jones back to the show that made their name, where they will vie to be crowned the Got Talent champion of magic.

A TV source said: “BGT might have been on air for fifteen-odd years, but Simon thinks there’s still so much life in the format.

“If you look at the ratings, viewers still love the madcap mix of talents.

“He sees honing in on a specific theme as a really nice way forward and what better way to start than with magic.

“Over the years the Got Talents all over the world have unearthed some amazing magic acts.”

Marc Spelmann reached the semi-finals in 2018 then went on to try his luck in The Champions spin-off in 2020.

Richard Jones won BGT in 2016, then also went on to The Champions in 2019.

They are just two of the huge names who wowed with their magical talent.

The source added: “Of course, if the magical contest is successful when it airs later this year, it paves the way for a raft of themed specials.

“There was talk of a Hallowe’en special after the success of The Witch earlier this year, but that’s not going to happen for 2022.

“And imagine a contest dedicated entirely to the dog acts - perfection.”

Britain’s Got Talent, which is hosted by Ant and Dec and has Simon, Amanda Holden, David Walliams and Alesha Dixon as judges, first aired on ITV in 2007.

Unfortunately, Ant and Dec have been forced to pull out of a Britain's Got Talent special with Covid.

A BGT spokesperson said: "Ant and Dec are both unwell and have postponed all work commitments until they recover.

"Sadly, this means they were unable to film Britain’s Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician. Whilst we wish them a speedy recovery, we are thrilled to confirm that BGT’s favourite magician, Stephen Mulhern has stepped in."

And a representative for the pairing said: "After both feeling unwell Ant and Dec have tested for Covid and unfortunately have both tested positive. 

"The duo will be postponing work commitments whilst they recover."