BGT’s Marc Spelmann reveals he had to make last-minute change to performance after Ant & Dec pulled out of special

MAGICIAN Marc Spelmann will wow Britain's Got Talent fans again on Sunday night when he competes in the show's magic special.

But the talented star, who finished runner-up to Colin Thackery in the 2019 series, was forced to make a major last minute change to his latest act when hosts Ant and Dec were taken ill with covid before filming.

Those watching BGT: The Ultimate Magician at home will have no idea that the performance was altered such is Marc's professionalism and calmness.

But in an exclusive interview with the Sun, he explains how he was desperately rehearsing his amended act just hours before taking to the stage.

He says: "The main part of the act is as it was always going to be, but the very first part of my act with Ant and Dec was going to be all about time, and there was a bit where I was going to do an effect that everyone at home could join in on, one of these interactive things.

"I was going to get someone to think of an hour on the clock and we're all gonna come together in unison and think of exactly the same hour.

"It could only work with Ant and Dec because there was something I was going to do with them personally with time and watches and clocks and things.

"That had to change once we got the call. It wouldn't have worked the same with Stephen [Mulhern], so I had to do something far more streamlined and quick. That was last minute, literally in my hotel room at one in the morning, preparing, going over this new bit. As simple as it is, when you see it it's really simple, but I'm filming this tomorrow and it's got to go right.

"No one likes a last minute change but it is what it is especially in the times we've found ourselves in in the last couple of years. We've all learned to expect the unexpected."

Production staff informed the ten acts that Ant and Dec were no longer hosting the show just two days before it was filmed in Birmingham, instructing them to tweak their performances if they featured the double act.

It was a particular blow for Marc because the duo have played such a pivotal role in his BGT journey.

He says: "Because Ant and Dec gave me the golden buzzer, because they were on stage with me as Magician X the whole way through, they almost because part of the act when I was Magician X, there was not one performance that didn't have them on stage with me."

However, as replacements go, Marc couldn't have been more pleased to see Stephen get the nod.

"Stephen's great, he's funny. I love Stephen," he says. "I've know him way before Got Talent because of his background in magic. He's always good. If Ant and Dec can't do it he's got that same sense of humour; he's quick-witted. He's really into magic. After my performance he was so sweet, he just said 'that was absolutely sensational', which was lovely."

Marc is keeping tight-lipped as to which magician impressed the arena audience the most to walk away with the £50,000 prize.

It was incredibly tough competition with the likes of The Witch, Richard Jones, Eric Chein, Colin Cloud and Mandy Muden all taking part.

But win or lose, Marc is looking forward to watching the episode back in the comfort of his home and toasting the night with a glass of whiskey.

He'll then turn his attention to another kind of magic, his daughter Isabella's seventh birthday in the run-up to Christmas.

BGT: The Ultimate Magician will air on Sunday, December 18, 2022 at 8pm on ITV.