Britain’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowell promises never-before-seen twists in new series as he admits he worries the format feels old
Simon Cowell has teased that the news series is as exciting as ever and will have elements never seen before in previous series.
The music mogul admitted that he is aware that the show feels “stale” and is keen to always keep it fresh with new twists.
According to sources at the time, Simon turned down his successful ITV show, The X Factor, after accepting that “the show had become a bit stale” in the UK.
Reports in 2021 suggested that the singing show would be “shelved for five years” and brought back if they found a way to revive it.
In a bid to prevent Britain’s Got Talent from suffering the same fate, Simon is keen to always introduce new elements to his Saturday night hit.
Simon Cowell has teased that the news series is as exciting as ever and will have elements never seen before in previous series
The music mogul admitted he’s aware the show feels “stale” and is keen to always keep it fresh with new twists
Discussing this year’s series, he said: ‘It has heart, great stories, things we’ve never seen before, which is important because you don’t just want to keep repeating the same thing year after year. So overall I couldn’t be happier.’
While there will be nine golden buzzers this year, Simon said there were ‘easily’ another 17 acts deserving of the accolade.
He explained: ‘I love that there are no rules on the show anymore. It’s kind of like being back at school because the teachers keep coming in and saying, ‘You know, can we try to keep the golden sums down?’
‘And they know we have absolutely no intention whatsoever of doing so. I keep saying, ‘Look, if something happens, or especially the audience tells us, we have to’.
‘I think they secretly love it when it happens, but they have to try and keep us in check! But I don’t think it matters.
‘I mean we don’t want to get to the point where you have 20 golden buzzer acts, but I think eight or nine is fine, that’s one episode and in one episode you’ll see two. I don’t see that as a bad thing’.
Despite the competition being so tough, Simon shared that all the judges agree on who can win the show this year.
He said: ‘When we were discussing the finals we were going around the room saying who we think could win and there was one person everyone was rooting for.
According to sources at the time, Simon turned down his hit ITV show, The X Factor, after accepting that “the show had become a bit stale” in the UK (pictured on the show in 2006 with Sharon Osbourne)
In a bid to prevent Britain’s Got Talent from suffering the same fate, Simon is keen to always introduce new elements to his Saturday night hit
‘It will be interesting. I’m excited for this year, let’s see who the public choose as their winner.’
He also admitted that despite his decades of experience in the industry, he still doesn’t know what it takes to win over an audience.
Simon said: ‘I don’t know anymore. I really don’t. I mean, if you had told me after his first audition that Viggo was going to win, I’d be like, “Yeah, right”.
‘But then it happened. And the great thing about this show is that it doesn’t matter. Whoever the public picks, the public picks, and I really think they get it right most years. I really do. Of course there is always someone I feel sorry for. But you just can never predict who the public will love’.
The X Factor format was still successful across the globe, but it appeared Simon had accepted in the UK “the show had become a bit stale” and so reportedly decided to “put it on the shelf”, with sources at the time saying claimed it was “unlikely” ever to return.
An insider of the show told The sun at the time: ‘Globally, it’s still a phenomenon and consumes millions every year. But in the UK there is no doubt that it has become a bit outdated.
‘Simon stays on top of his game and knows how to make a hit. He owns the rights to the show and it’s his call – not ITV’s – whether he drops it or not.
‘Clearly the last thing he wants is for The X Factor to fizzle out with a whimper and become a bit of a joke – especially in contrast to the show in its pomp.’
Britain’s Got Talent airs on ITV at 7.30pm on Saturday 12 April