Amanda Holden hits back at BGT fix accusations by insisting this year is ‘more amateur & home grown’

Amanda Holden has hit back at last year’s criticism of Britain’s Got Talent by pointing out that this series is packed with a lot more homegrown talent.

The show was hit with accusations of being a fix last year after it was revealed that some of the acts in the live shows were pros.

Comedian Axel Blake was crowned the winner of the 15th series, despite already having his own Amazon show, Axel Blake: I’m Not Gonna Lie.

Meanwhile, Loren Allred received the coveted golden buzzer from Amanda, despite already having massive success as the voice behind The Greatest Showman with Never Enough.

However, Amanda, 52, has defended the show, saying the reason for so many professional acts last year was that they were struggling because of the pandemic.

She further emphasized that this year there were fewer professional acts and more ‘amateurs’.

She said, “It feels more homegrown [this year]. It feels like things people would do in their bedrooms this year and less pros, but the standard is still exceptionally high.

“Last year we had a lot of people who were struggling professionally because of the lockdown – a lot of people who had to remind themselves and their audience that they could do it.

“It was great for us to give them that platform after a very difficult time for artists.

“But this year I think it’s evened out again and more amateur, home grown people are queuing up and coming in again.”

It comes after Declan Donnelly admitted that he and his partner-in-crime Ant McPartlin played pranks on new judge Bruno Tonioli.

He said, “We kept telling him, quite mischievously, different lines.

“So when he pressed his golden buzzer during the first session of the first day, halfway through an act, we told him not to worry because he had another golden buzzer tomorrow, and he had that every day !

‘Maybe that has to do with the fact that we have more golden buzzers this year! We also played a prank on the rest of the judges by entering their room and taking a BGT quiz, but secretly giving Bruno all the answers beforehand.

“That was kind of nice to see the look on everyone’s face.

Ant said: ‘Much to Simon’s chagrin that someone else would win a quiz on his show. He quickly realized it was a joke and didn’t like it! But we loved it.’

Once known as Mr. Nasty for his no nonsense approach, when Simon was asked if he still considers himself the the hardest judge to impress, he replied, “I don’t know, I think we all have different opinions.”

‘I don’t really think about it too much. You have to take each action individually. Instead of just thinking, “I’m just going to be tough or whatever,” because everyone is different. I think it’s only fair to be honest. I really, really.

“I don’t like the idea of ​​lying to people and saying everyone is great, because unfortunately they aren’t.

“But the thing about our show, like I said before, you don’t have to win to change your career, a good audition that goes viral can open so many doors. That’s what sets us apart, I think, from other shows.”

On emerging themes from the pre-recorded auditions, Amanda revealed, “Yes, we’ve had a lot of choirs this year, more than ever before, I think.

‘I really want a choir to win this year. There is a male choir that is just amazing. I enjoyed the fact that it was a group of men who came for good singing.’

Alesha was excited about returning to Manchester for the first time in three years: ‘The crowd is always so excited and excited and we missed it.

“We hadn’t been there for three years and we always loved touring the country because it felt like the circus had come to town.

“There’s a different kind of perspective and vibe depending on where you go. And it shouldn’t always be aimed at London. So I was looking forward to it, I was happy to be there and I think the audience really appreciated it.”

While the show has been enjoyed by millions across the country since 2007, Bruno let slip that he had never seen it himself before.

He raved about his experience so far: ‘Oh, it’s incredible! I mean, honestly, I had such a good time! Really, really, really good.

‘Because it’s completely new to me, I told Simon, I’ve never seen the show before. But I never watch anything I’m in, I’ve never even watched Strictly or Dancing With the Stars.

“I want to feel free to put my own personal spin on it, not copy what someone has done for me, if that makes sense. And the truth is, the talent really excites me because I love watching new talent.

“This is like live theatre. It’s a real variety show like we used to have. And I always loved that. Let me tell you, some of the talent we’ve seen in auditions…absolutely incredible. Wow!’

Britain’s Got Talent returns on Saturday 15 April at 8pm and Sunday 16 April at 7.45pm on ITV1 and ITVX.