Britain's Got Talent has been a landmark of British television for nearly twenty years now. The show first blessed our screens on 9 June 2007, and hosts Ant & Dec have quickly become fan favourites. However, as is the case for many reality TV shows, reality sometimes outdoes fiction. Over the years, producers on the show have been accused of making up scandals from scratch, as well as leaking sensitive information to the press.
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Here are some of the biggest scandals that took place on BGT.
Members of the jury have found themselves in hot waters
Simon Cowell's inappropriate kiss
Simon Cowell has often been accused of inappropriate behaviour over his many years as a judge of Britain's Got Talent. In 2013, a contestant's performance led to a kiss that went down in television history. Indeed, while 71-year-old Kelly Fox sang her rendition of Kiss My Ass, Simon Cowell was filmed planting a peck right above fellow judge Amanda Holden's backside. While some viewers found it funny, others found the ordeal highly inappropriate, due to the fact that many children watch the show every week.
A member of the National Association of Headteachers went as far as to describe the would-be kiss as something 'no mum or dad with an ounce of morality would want their child to see'.
People threw eggs at juror Simon Cowell
2013 was definitely not a good year for Simon Cowell. While two contestants, singers Richard and Adam, were performing their song accompanied by the official Britain's Got Talent orchestra, one of the musicians rose from her seat to go and throw eggs at the judge. Nathalie Holt took the time to put down her violin first, and then to apologise to the duo of singers for ruining their big moment. After the incident, Nathalie Holt explained she had egged Simon Cowell because she thought he had 'too much power and influence in the entertainment industry'.
David Walliams' comment leak
In September 2023, former judge David Walliams announced he was suing the show's production company Fremantle for misuse of private information and for breaching the general data protection regulation (GDPR). This accusation comes after off-camera comments made by David Walliams about contestants on the show were leaked to The Guardian,causing him to remove himself from the show, after apologising for his 'disrespectful comments'. A month later, the production company publicly apologised for the leak, and agreed to a settlement with the former judge. A spokesperson for the producers apologised:
We are sincerely sorry that his private conversations when a judge on Britain’s Got Talent were published, and the great distress this caused David.
They also claimed they had taken great measures to make sure this kind of leak does not happen again, as it reportedly had terrible consequences on David Walliams' mental health, eventually contributing to his severe depression.
We have reviewed our production practices on the show to ensure they fully respect the expectations of our talent whilst satisfying the requirements of the show. We have enjoyed a great relationship with David over many years.
It's not only the judges that have been embroiled in controversy of the years...
Contestants and producers accused of faking some performances
Jules and her dog Matisse
In 2015, Britain's Got Talent faced its biggest scandal yet. Jules O'Dwyer quickly became beloved after appearing on the show alongside her dog, named Matisse. The pair rapidly owned the stage and watchers were delighted to witness the beautiful connection between the pet and his owner. Their success led them to win the ninth series of Britain's Got Talent that same year. However, excitement was quickly replaced by anger.
The morning after the duo won the show, new information came to light in the media. Indeed, it was revealed that Jules had reportedly swapped her dog Matisse for another one, named Chase, during her final act, which showed the dog doing a tricky rope trick.
The show argued that Jules had swapped her dogs because Matisse was afraid of heights. Fans immediately reacted by sending hundreds of complaints to the Office of Communications. The Ofcom received over 1,150 complaints following the discovery, with many disgruntled fans claiming they had been tricked. Neither Jules nor the hosts, Ant & Dec, had warned watchers that the dog was in fact Chase, and not Matisse. The Ofcom reacted by explaining:
After a detailed investigation, we found ITV broke broadcasting rules by misleading viewers during the series finale. We accepted ITV had no intention to deceive the audience. However, the presentation of the act did not make clear to viewers that a central part was performed by a second dog.
BGT hit with fakery claims
In April 2024, BGT fans noticed a detail in the jury's reactions to the performances, which led them to accuse the show of being 'fake'. Indeed, they noticed that despite the large range of the acts, jury members always reacted with the same emotion. Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli seemed shocked by every single performance. Their faces always wore the same expression, without fail. Fans quickly took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share their frustration. One Internet user wrote:
Is there anything more annoying on TV than the #BGT judges with their fake open mouths in surprise at almost every act?
Another one commented:
Why do the Judges act so shocked at everything... They all seem to be over doing this acting, even Simon Cowell seems to be doing it now.
Finally, on top of exclaiming their annoyance, others went as far as to accuse the show of faking these reactions, and editing them after the performances have been shot. One person wrote:
I am convinced they record the judges reactions and facial expressions and insert them at appropriate moments during the acts! This ‘show’ is so contrived!
Show producers have been accused of creating acts from scratch
Watchers also claimed several acts were famous before appearing on the show, and therefore shouldn't have been selected, as the jurors are supposed to give anonymous people a chance to join the limelight.
According to information revealed by The Sun in May 2024, producers had meetings to brainstorm acts which would have the most chances of going viral, thus creating a publicity stunt. A spooky magician dressed as a witch, who appeared on the show in 2022, is believed to have received advice from the producing team. Another act, showing a contestant dressed as a creepy clown, was also rumoured to have been completely created by the producers, in the hope that he would scare Simon Cowell. An anonymous source told The Sun:
Scouting for talent on shows is nothing new but to actually be creating acts out of thin air is ridiculous. The Witch went down so well bosses wanted to recreate the hype. They thought playing on Simon's clown phobia would be ideal so pulled ideas together.
Read more:
Susan Boyle: Here is how the BGT contestant is doing a year after suffering from a stroke
Bruno Tonioli's salary for Britain's Got Talent: How does his pay compare to David Walliams'?
Amanda Holden’s salary for Britain’s Got Talent: This is how much she reportedly gets paid
Sources used:
The Sun: SHOCK CLAIMS Britain’s Got Talent in ‘fakery’ row as furious fans claim ‘it happens with every act’
Express: Britain's Got Talent's bosses 'secretly created acts from scratch' including fan favourite
Independent: David Walliams: Britain’s Got Talent production company settles with former judge after comment leak
OK!: Britain’s Got Talent’s biggest scandals through the years from tears to fix scandal
Yahoo!: 'Britain's Got Talent': The 10 biggest scandals
