Britain's Got Talent
| Britain's Got Talent | |
|---|---|
| File:BritainsGotTalentlogo.jpg | |
| Genre | Talent show |
| Created by | Simon Cowell & Syco TV |
| Presented by | Britain's Got Talent: Anthony McPartlin, Declan Donnelly Britain's Got More Talent: Stephen Mulhern |
| Judges | Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Piers Morgan |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 10 (Series 1) 14 (Series 2) |
| Production | |
| Producer | SYCO TV in association with talkbackTHAMES |
| Running time | 60 minutes (inc. comms) 60-90 minutes (inc. comms) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 9 June 2007 – present |
| Related | |
| America's Got Talent Australia's Got Talent | |
Britain's Got Talent is a British television show on ITV (also on TV3 in Ireland), and part of the Got Talent series. Presented by Ant & Dec, it is a search for Britain's next best talent act, featuring singers, dancers, comedians, variety acts, and other talents of all ages. Anyone who believed they have talent was encouraged to audition. The winner of both series received £100,000 and are given the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in front of members of the Royal Family.
The live finals are broadcast live from Fountain Studios in Wembley, which is the same studio as Britain's Got Talent's sister show, The X Factor.
The show's secondary theme song is "Lux Aeterna" (originally from the movie Requiem for a Dream), which is used to create tension.
The first series of the talent show premiered on 9 June 2007, and was broadcast daily with a live final on 17 June 2007, revealing Paul Potts as the first winner. The second series began on 12 April 2008. The final was aired on May 31 2008, and was won by George Sampson.
Format
The series made its début soon after the conclusion of its U.S. counterpart, America's Got Talent, and is the creation of The X Factor creator and Pop Idol/American Idol judge Simon Cowell who has created a Got Talent series across the globe. On 12 February 2007 it was announced by ITV the judges would be Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan (who had also judged America's Got Talent and was chosen as a replacement for David Hasselhoff), and Amanda Holden (a late replacement for Cheryl Cole[1][2]). Originally the judge line-up would have been Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and David Hasselhoff, from America's Got Talent. In a similar fashion to The X Factor, the show has an ITV2 counterpart called Britain's Got More Talent, presented by magician and former CITV presenter, Stephen Mulhern.
The show was originally planned to air much earlier (before America's Got Talent) and be presented by Paul O'Grady. However, after O'Grady's defection to Channel 4 for The Paul O'Grady Show, O'Grady refused to appear in another ITV show, so the series was put on hold after just one rehearsal show.[3][4]
The audition process is similar to The Gong Show but with the judges pressing buzzers instead of banging a gong. The buzzers can only be pressed once if the judge has seen enough, and when all three are pressed the act must stop. The auditions also include the added twist of having to perform in front of a studio audience alongside the judges. Once the act finishes or is stopped, judges express their opinions and decide whether they would like to see them in the semi-finals, with acts needing to receive a majority vote to go through. The audience is invited to express their views (often boos or cheers) which may have a positive or negative impact on a judge's decision, should the judge be unsure on whether to put the act through
Semi finals and final
The semi-final and final shows are broadcast live, with a varying number of semi-finals, followed by the one live final split into two episodes over one night. In Series 1, eight acts performed in each semi-final, with the six most popular acts from all the semi-finals winning a position in the final. Unlike the American version, judges may still end a performance early with three 'X's. The judges are again asked to express their views on each act's performance.
After all eights acts have performed, phone lines open for a short time. After the votes are counted the act who polled the highest number of public votes was automatically placed in the final. The judges then choose between second and third most popular acts, with the winner of that vote gaining a place in the final. All other acts are then eliminated from the competition.
Series one
Series one of Britain's Got Talent began on 9 June 2007 and ended on 17 June 2007. The first 5 shows concerned the Audition Stages and the final three shows involved the live Semi-Finals and Final. The series was eventually won by opera singer Paul Potts.
Series two
The 2008 series of Britain's Got Talent included notable differences from the 2007 series, including the fact that the auditions visited Scotland and that there were 40 in the live semi-finals. The series also ran for longer, this time airing seven weeks instead of one. The series was ultimately won by street dancer George Sampson, with dance group Signature coming in second and singer Andrew Johnston in third.
Series three
As announced at the end of Series 2, Britain's Got Talent will be returning in 2009. The 2009 panel of judges will consist of Amanda Holden, Piers Morgan, and Simon Cowell, with Ant and Dec hosting. Sister-show Britain's Got More Talent, with Stephen Mulhern will also return, as announced on the last episode. The application process is now open for the next series, due to start in early January/February. The auditions will be held in six cities across the UK: London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow and Manchester.
Live tour 2008
On 17 April 2008 it was announced there was to be a 13-date live tour, visiting the UK's major cities during the month of June, featuring the semi-finalists, the finalists and the winner from this current series, along with a few surprises. It has been confirmed that Stephen Mulhern will be hosting the tour, which started on 6 June. None of the judging panel will be present, and there will be no live voting. The tour was later extended to 22 performances, including matinées, after high demand for tickets. The tour stars all 10 finalists, as well as semi-finalists Tracy Lee Collins & Anya Sparks. The tour also features a duet with Faryl Smith and Andrew Johnston.
References
External links
- Britain's Got Talent at itv.com
- Britains Got Talent Number 1 Fan Club
- Britain's Got Talent - Official Sponsor's Site
- 'Paul Potts on the audition process'
- 'Andrew Johnston - Finalist 2008'
- Britain's Got Talent at UKgameshows.com
