Britain’s Got Talent 2023 will bring the emotion, according to boss Simon Cowell.
Following the triumph of comedian Axel Blake last year, ITV’s talent-hunting spectacle returned for its sixteenth series tonight (April 15), and the infamously hard-to-please Cowell spoke to OK! before things got underway.
Asked how he’d rate the latest crop of acts, he replied: “I think we’ve done really well, actually. I was thinking about it last night because it felt like a long run, I’m not going to lie. And then I was thinking about who’s going in each show and I was thinking, ‘Actually, you know what? We’ve got really good acts.'”
Joined by Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and newcomer Bruno Tonioli on the judging panel this time around, Cowell elaborated: “Importantly, they’re really interesting people, acts we’ve never seen before.
“A show like this is important right now because you’ve got to create two hours of TV which is going to make people feel good. It’s everyone watching this show, from kids to grandparents. I love the fact that it’s a family show.“You should get emotional, you should laugh out loud, and some of the stuff we have this year, and I’m not necessarily talking about the comedians, it’s really funny.”
Further along, the X Factor creator also weighed in on whether he considered himself the toughest judge of the lot.
“I think we all have different opinions. You have to take each act individually. Rather than just thinking, ‘I’m just going to be tough or whatever’, because everybody’s different,” he pointed out.
“I think it’s only fair to be honest. I really, really do. I don’t like the idea of lying to people, saying everyone’s great because unfortunately, they’re not. But the thing about our show, as I said before, you don’t need to win to change your career, a good audition that goes viral can open so many doors.
“That’s what makes us stand out, I think, from other shows.”