Latest news with #PostOfficeChoir
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Britain's Got Talent change that's ruined it for me, the acts and everyone else'
As we prepare for the grand finale of Britain's Got Talent on ITV1 this weekend, one quote from this year's series is still playing in my head. It's these words, which were shouted by Bruno Tonioli at the red hot favourites Hear Our Voice, following their triumphant semi-final performance: "The ordeal you've been subjected to is unimaginable." Tonioli's words were, of course, a perfect summary of the nation's feelings on the way some of the Post Office choir members on that stage were treated by their bosses and our leaders throughout the Horizon IT scandal. However, in more general terms Tonioli's words could have equally been directed towards the five million or so hardy ITV viewers who have sat through the unimaginable ordeal that has been Britain's Got Talent 2025. I think we can all agree it has not been a vintage year for the once mighty talent search. Then again, that should not have come as a surprise given that the last time this show enjoyed anything approaching a vintage year Piers Morgan was still on the judging panel. (I'm not suggesting they bring him back, by the way. KSI will do us just fine.) It didn't help that ITV's decision to extend BGT's run in order to cover the gaping hole in the schedule left by Saturday Night Takeaway's departure displayed a lack of imagination on a par with the network's obvious lack of a programming budget. Consequently this series has felt like it has gone on forever, even if you've been fast-forwarding through the ad breaks and filler. Plus, we've been crudely denied one of the fixtures of our annual TV calendar. For as long as I can remember, May half-term week has been BGT semi-finals week. The hype builds throughout the week, then we have a recovery day on Saturday before reconvening for the big night on Sunday. Then we quickly forget about it until the next year. ITV's schedulers have taken that away from us and, unless by some miracle a cheap new Saturday night entertainment format drops into their laps in the next few months, the same thing will happen again next year — and every subsequent year until BGT has finally been flogged to death. If I was a betting man, I'd say it won't last much beyond a fanfare 20th series due in 2027 — especially if Simon Cowell's desperation takes him down The X Factor route and he starts frantically meddling with the format. There were worrying signs of that this year with the ludicrous decision to introduce extra Golden Buzzers in the semi-finals. Now, I appreciate that the crowd wildly chanting for the judges to push the buzzer may make for an exciting atmosphere in the theatre, and even lead to one of Cowell's coveted YouTube "moments", which are clearly all he cares about these days. Watching it at home on the telly over and over again is incredibly annoying though. And what is the extra Golden Buzzer actually saying to the TV audience? It's saying "We don't trust you to vote for the acts that we want to be in the final so we're going to deny you that right and just sneak them through the backdoor ourselves." It also leaves the show open to the possibility that someone could reach the final without ever having faced any kind of democratic process. So Cowell could end up in a position where he is able to manipulate the entire show from start to finish. I mean, just imagine that. No wonder Ant & Dec were only too happy to hand over their extra Golden Buzzer to guest judge KSI in the fifth semi-final. Those boys know a stinky idea when they see one. The only surprise was that Hear Our Voice never received a Golden Buzzer of any kind. You know, considering how incredible and emotional their performances have been. It was almost as if Cowell and co knew that they'd never need one, because their backstory was always going to endear them to the voting public. In fact, ITV and Cowell must have been delighted that this hastily-formed choir came out of nowhere and fell into their laps the very year that the Post Office scandal really blew up. (That was due in large part of course to the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, although ITV doesn't like to go on about that too much.) And how lucky were they that one of the choir's members was big mates with a professional singer/songwriter who had just written a song that fit beautifully with the choir's campaign for justice? The fact that he and his band were willing to come along and sing lead and backing vocals for them must have felt like the icing on the cake. Apologies if that sounds overly cynical. Watching Cowell's shows for twenty years can do that to a man. Just think yourselves lucky that I'm not some wild conspiracy theorist, or I might end up mentioning that said singer/songwriter is signed to Cowell's old mates, Universal Music Publishing. To be honest, I'm just annoyed that so far none of the judges has even thought to tell a bunch of postal workers that they "really delivered on that stage." Come on, guys. Open goal or what. Besides, at the end of the day who is going to complain if the £250,000 prize finds its way into the pockets of some of the people who to this day are still getting stiffed by the government? Obviously, the other finalists may feel a tad aggrieved. The beauty of BGT though, is that those other nine acts (maybe more if there's a wildcard or two) still have a chance to prevent the foregone conclusion on Saturday night. Maybe electronic dancers The Blackouts from Switzerland's Got Talent and Germany's Got Talent will stitch even more LEDs into their costumes and really blow everyone away, including their dance rivals Ping Pong Pang from Italia's Got Talent — and presumably, at some point in the future, Benidorm's Got Talent. Or perhaps schoolboy electric guitarist Olly Pearson will have extra pyrotechnics coming out of his amp and his foot pedal this time around. You never know, comedian Joseph Charm might even include something in his final routine that resembles a joke. (Okay, a bit harsh. But that routine in the semi was nowhere near funny enough for a Golden Buzzer.) I guess there's also a chance that Scotland will come through for Vinnie McKee just like it did for, erm, that Scottish fella who won in 2011. ITV might even extend the show by half an hour to allow magician Harry Moulding to finish his act. Yeah, right. Even if any of those things were to happen on the night, Cowell would probably just pull out another surprise Golden Buzzer and declare Hear Our Voice the winner. To be fair, I'd probably accept that. But only on one condition: That when they perform for King Charles they ask him to autograph some stamps. Britain's Got Talent 2025 finalists Binita Harry Moulding Hear Our Voice Jasmine Rice Joseph Charm Olly Pearson Ping Pong Pang Stacey Leadbeatter The Blackouts Vinnie McKee Will Burns The final of Britain's Got Talent airs on ITV1 and ITVX at 7pm-9:45pm on Saturday, 31 May.
Daily Mirror
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Amanda Holden did Zoom parents' evening in swimming costume due to hot weather
Britain's Got Talent star Amanda Holden, 54, revealed she was wearing a swimsuit and sipping wine for a parents' evening on Zoom for her child Amanda Holden revealed she attended a parents' evening on Zoom wearing a swimming costume while sipping on a glass of wine because of the hot weather. The 54-year-old Britain's Got Talent star appeared on Good Morning Britain and revealed her child's teacher said she was 'jammy' as they were stuck at school. "Well, instead of a bikini, I did cover up and wear a swimming costume, can I say," she confessed. "But it was so hot, and I balanced the iPad here (at her neckline), so they had just this view. But every teacher was like, 'Oh, you're so jammy', because they were all stuck in a stock cupboard somewhere. 'What I didn't say is that I had a sneaky little rose under my deck chair as well to get through it.' During the conversation, she also discussed her thoughts on the ongoing BGT series. She said she wanted a group such as the Post Office Choir, a group of people impacted by the Horizon scandal which saw hundreds of subpostmasters wrongly convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting, to win this year's edition. Amanda continued: "You know me, I'm not one for sitting on the fence, and I've always said that I would love our Britain's Got Talent winner this year to be a group of people. 'Because it would be amazing for the money to be divvied out amongst all of them, and for the joy to be spread, and to be at the Royal Variety, I think for a choir or a large group of people, would be amazing.' Amanda recently opened up about the biggest problem of being a mother and wife to her loving family. The star shares daughters Lexi, 19, and Hollie, 13, with her husband Chris Hughes. The star recently saw her eldest child leave the nest to attend university - but she has been back recently amid a break in the semesters. And while Amanda says she loves to take care of her family and make them dinner each night, the range of culinary requirements can leave her working up a sweat in the kitchen. Speaking about having to cook individual meals for her family, she said to Hello! magazine: "I try to cook a family meal every night. "It's been great recently, because Lexi's been home from university, so we've been back to a family of four. And I'm obviously a vegetarian. Lexi's practically vegan. Chris and Holly eat meat, so I cook, but I have to make like four different meals." She went on to admit she not been the best at teaching her daughters how to cook for themselves. She revealed: "They're [Hollie and Lexi] getting into the swing of cooking. "I've been a bit rubbish at teaching them how to cook, because I've always cooked, but they're good preppers, and they tidy up after me."
Leader Live
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Amanda Holden did Zoom parents' evening in swimming costume due to hot weather
The 54-year-old said her child's teachers said she was 'jammy' as they were stuck at school, in an interview with ITV's Good Morning Britain. Holden explained: 'Well, instead of a bikini, I did cover up and wear a swimming costume, can I say. 'But it was so hot, and I balanced the iPad here (at her neckline), so they had just this view. 'But every teacher was like, 'oh, you're so jammy', because they were all stuck in a stock cupboard somewhere. 'What I didn't say is that I had a sneaky little rose under my deck chair as well to get through it.' The judge went on to say she wanted a group such as the Post Office Choir, a group of people impacted by the Horizon scandal which saw hundreds of subpostmasters wrongly convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting, to win this year's edition of talent show Britain's Got Talent. A post shared by Amanda Holden (@noholdenback) Holden said: 'You know me, I'm not one for sitting on the fence, and I've always said that I would love our Britain's Got Talent winner this year to be a group of people. 'Because it would be amazing for the money to be divvied out amongst all of them, and for the joy to be spread, and to be at the Royal Variety, I think for a choir or a large group of people, would be amazing.' Host Richard Madeley also asked Holden if the judges ever felt bullied into pressing their golden buzzers, which automatically send contestants through to the next round of the ITV talent show. She admitted: ''Bullied' is a strong word to bandy around – heavily encouraged, yes, and often you do it because of our audience, it's a live show, you rely on the public vote, and the audience is never wrong.' Britain's Got Talent will return on ITV and ITVX on Sunday at 7pm, rather than its usual Saturday spot, due to the FA Cup final.
Telegraph
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Amanda Holden attended virtual parents' evening in swimsuit with glass of wine
Amanda Holden attended her daughter's virtual parents' evening in her swimming costume with a glass of wine because of hot weather. The 54-year-old Britain's Got Talent judge said her child's teachers said she was 'jammy' as they were stuck at school, in an interview with ITV's Good Morning Britain. Holden explained: 'Well, instead of a bikini, I did cover up and wear a swimming costume, can I say. 'But it was so hot, and I balanced the iPad here [at her neckline], so they had just this view. 'But every teacher was like, 'Oh, you're so jammy,' because they were all stuck in a stock cupboard somewhere. 'What I didn't say is that I had a sneaky little rosé under my deck chair as well to get through it.' 'Bullied is a strong word' The presenter went on to say she wanted a group such as the Post Office Choir, an ensemble formed of people impacted by the Horizon scandal that saw hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting, to win this year's edition of talent show Britain's Got Talent. Holden said: 'You know me, I'm not one for sitting on the fence, and I've always said that I would love our Britain's Got Talent winner this year to be a group of people. 'Because it would be amazing for the money to be divvied out amongst all of them, and for the joy to be spread, and to be at the Royal Variety, I think for a choir or a large group of people, would be amazing.' Richard Madeley, the Good Morning Britain host, asked Holden if the judges ever felt bullied into pressing their golden buzzers, which automatically send contestants through to the next round of the ITV talent show. She admitted: 'Bullied is a strong word to bandy around – heavily encouraged, yes, and often you do it because of our audience. It's a live show, you rely on the public vote, and the audience is never wrong.' Britain's Got Talent will return on ITV and ITVX on Sunday at 7pm, rather than its usual Saturday spot, because of the FA Cup final.
South Wales Guardian
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Amanda Holden did Zoom parents' evening in swimming costume due to hot weather
The 54-year-old said her child's teachers said she was 'jammy' as they were stuck at school, in an interview with ITV's Good Morning Britain. Holden explained: 'Well, instead of a bikini, I did cover up and wear a swimming costume, can I say. 'But it was so hot, and I balanced the iPad here (at her neckline), so they had just this view. 'But every teacher was like, 'oh, you're so jammy', because they were all stuck in a stock cupboard somewhere. 'What I didn't say is that I had a sneaky little rose under my deck chair as well to get through it.' The judge went on to say she wanted a group such as the Post Office Choir, a group of people impacted by the Horizon scandal which saw hundreds of subpostmasters wrongly convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting, to win this year's edition of talent show Britain's Got Talent. A post shared by Amanda Holden (@noholdenback) Holden said: 'You know me, I'm not one for sitting on the fence, and I've always said that I would love our Britain's Got Talent winner this year to be a group of people. 'Because it would be amazing for the money to be divvied out amongst all of them, and for the joy to be spread, and to be at the Royal Variety, I think for a choir or a large group of people, would be amazing.' Host Richard Madeley also asked Holden if the judges ever felt bullied into pressing their golden buzzers, which automatically send contestants through to the next round of the ITV talent show. She admitted: ''Bullied' is a strong word to bandy around – heavily encouraged, yes, and often you do it because of our audience, it's a live show, you rely on the public vote, and the audience is never wrong.' Britain's Got Talent will return on ITV and ITVX on Sunday at 7pm, rather than its usual Saturday spot, due to the FA Cup final.
