Comedian and TV star Paul O’Grady was set to be the host of Britain’s Got Talent and even have the show named after him until things got very heated behind the scenes
13:47, 07 Oct 2025Updated 13:47, 07 Oct 2025
Paul O’Grady was set to be the host of Britain’s Got Talent before Ant and Dec(Image: TV Times via Getty Images)
Former Britain’s Got Talent judge Piers Morgan has revealed Paul O’Grady was meant to be the host for the hit talent show, until things went very wrong. The controversial broadcaster was part of the original line up on Simon Cowell’s talent show back in 2007.
Music mogul Simon was inspired by former talent shows including Opportunity Knocks and New Faces as he wanted to create a competition for people of any age and location to enter. He wanted a range of personalities on the judging panel with him, and first settled on Piers and Fern Britton.
Piers admitted: “I owe him a lot actually because I would not have had any career in America without him. He has been great for me. He said ‘I am going to bring back an old all-round talent show like New Faces, Opportunity Knocks and The Gong Show in America. It can be any talent’.”
The broadcaster explained: “We did a pilot at ITV. Paul O’Grady was the host. The judging panel was Simon Cowell, me, and Fern Britton. It was about to be greenlit as a prime-time ITV show.”
Piers said he was ready “to get back in the game” but things quickly took a turn and the production was halted. He said: “Then Paul O’Grady had a massive falling out with ITV, told them to shove it and went to Channel 4.”
At the time, the Paul O’Grady Show moved over to Channel 4 and ITV stopped him being able to rent their studios. Paul decided to refuse all work with the network following the row.
He explained years later: “I did the pilot for Britain’s Got Talent – which was originally going to be called Paul O’Grady’s Got Talent. But I told the producers they were having a joke if they thought I would front a show with that title.
“The original panel of judges was going to be Simon Cowell, Fern Britton and Piers Morgan. I was the host. Then when I had the row with ITV I was banned from the studios.
“I remember I rang Simon and told him he had a huge hit on his hands, but there was no way I could do it. I said, if I am banned I have to be banned from everything. I can’t be a hypocrite and come in and do this. I had to bow out.”
Paul added: “I don’t regret what I did. Not in the slightest. Good luck to them.” He did also manage to patch things up with ITV and returned years later with Paul O’Grady Live!.
Paul’s decision to boycott ITV meant Britain’s Got Talent was hit with a huge delay and Simon decided to kick off with America’s Got Talent first. Simon enlisted Piers again as he wanted “someone who is judgmental, opinionated, obnoxious and arrogant” as him.
Britain’s Got Talent hit screens a year later with Simon, Piers and Amanda Holden as judges and Ant and Dec as hosts. Piers said on The Overlap and Betfair’s Stick to Cricket show: “He had literally come up with the entire concept of Got Talent on a napkin at the Ivy in Kensington.
“Bring back a talent show. Have a tough mean judge, a mother hen figure, a funny person and any talent goes. Now the Got Talent franchise is in more than 60 countries around the world. It changed my life.”
Post Office scandal victims are favourites to win tomorrow’s final – as we catch up with all of the finalists
21:13, 30 May 2025Updated 21:59, 30 May 2025
Hear Our Voice set to take their fight all the way to King with BGT victory(Image: ITV)
Post Office scandal choir Hear Our Voice look set to take their fight all the way to the King by winning tomorrow night’s Britain Got Talent final. The group – made up of victims of the sub postmasters scandal, which saw hundreds of lives ruined by the Horizon IT fiasco – are favourites to be crowned victorious.
If they are, they will get an audience with King Charles at the Royal Variety Show. Member Tim Bretnall says it would “take their story to the highest level.” “The absolute best bit of this journey has been the audiences reactions and support, and to be able to feel that for Royalty would be unbeatable,” he said.
Inspirational choir Hear Our Voice are favourites to win BGT(Image: ITV)
“Winning the show would be huge, we’ve all spent so long fighting what’s felt like an uphill battle, and it’s still going on now, but knowing that the public are firmly behind us would mean the absolute world to us.
“It would give our cause a real seal of approval and hopefully a platform to continue to fight for the justice that people deserve, what’s already changed my life is the joy that being in choir has brought.”
Hundreds of sub-postmasters were accused or convicted of theft and fraud due to the faulty Horizon system, developed by Fujitsu and installed by the Post Office.
Their story inspired last year’s ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office. The award-winning show, which starred Toby Jones as campaigning sub-postmaster Sir Alan Bates, led to the quashing of convictions.
The stories of the Hear Our Voice choir inspired hit ITV series Mr Bates V The Post Office(Image: ITV STUDIOS)
One whose conviction for was overturned is Tim, 42, who ran a post office in Roch, Pembrokeshire.
Speaking ahead of today’s final, he says logistics has been the hardest part of the week, not nerves.
“That’s the hardest bit of the choir because we are all from all over the country,” he explained. “Strangely nerves haven’t really come into it, it feels so good to be standing alongside all my friends doing this, we love the opportunity it’s given us.”
Promising an emotional performance, Tim teased what fans can expect. “It’s another song that really speak to us all, how we feel now we’ve come together, it really shows how courage is our talent,” he said. “We’ve been working on this song for months, we hope it will really give a feeling of how together we’ve all been brought by doing this.”
With a £250,000 prize fund also up for grabs, Tim has big plans for the money.
“If we were lucky enough to win we’d split the money evenly between all the members of the choir – after putting a little into saving for my children I plan to give the majority of my share to the 2 postmasters charities – Lost Chances and Horizon Shortfall Fund,” said Tim.
Hear Our Voice are one of 10 finalists performing night. We caught up with the rest of the hopefuls ahead of the finale.
Guitarist Olly Pearson, 11, says her’s overcome a few hiccups ahead of the final.
“I did have a problem with my guitar set up which I had to spend a lot of time working on with my grandad to stop one note ‘choking out’, he explained. But it’s all sorted now!”
Olly Pearson has impressed with his guitar skills(Image: ITV)
Olly wants to treat his grandad if he wins. “First thing I would do is buy my Grandad his dream guitar a USA Fender Strat to say thank you for teaching me!” he promised.
Magician Harry Moulding, 24, is going all out to try win with a never before seen trick.
“All I can say is that it’s going to be the biggest thing that I’ve ever tried to do,” he teased. “I don’t think any magician has ever done this before. And I’m pretty sure that no magician has ever done it on Britain’s Got Talent or on live TV. So just expect for this to be the biggest one yet.”
Swiss dance troup The Blackouts are promising another spectacular light and dance show with a heartwarming message.
“Our final show is called Thank You Britain,” explains Elias. “It’s our way of expressing just how much this experience — and the kindness of the British public — has meant to us. You’ve welcomed us with open arms, and this is our love letter back to you. Expect emotion, energy, surprises and a lot of light — not just in the technical sense, but in the way we hope it makes people feel.”
Glaswegian singer Vinnie McKee, 29, is channeling his nerves and emotions into his performance – which he says will be a tearjerker.
“I’m extremely nervous but more excited than ever before!” he admits. “You will need to have tissues at the ready as I’m doing my own version of an emotional classic that’s never been performed like this before.”
Scottish singer Vinnie McKee has teased an emotional performance(Image: (Image: ITV))
Mum-of-one Stacey Leadbeatter, 29, has big plans for what she’ll do with the prize money if she wins – hoping it will help her grow her family.
“If I was to be lucky enough to win, I promised that I would take my little girl to Disneyland!” she begins. “I’ve promised her that one day I’d do that and this would help! I’d also use the money to help with funding to extend my family by looking into getting IVF and also it would help a great deal towards wedding costs and also releasing my own music.”
Gymnast Binita Chetry, nine, is the youngest finalist of the series – and while she may be small, she’s certainly mighty.
“It’s great because I look small but my performance is as impactful as someone bigger than me,” she said. “I feel the advantage of being the youngest contestant is I get all the love and care of others and that makes me happy. “I want to inspire all the young girls that no matter how young you are if you have a passion for something you can do anything.”
Italian dance troupe Ping Pong Pang are promising an “original, wild, and full of rhythm” show, which they hope takes them all the way to the Royal Variety Performance.
Patrizio Ratto said: “As always, we’ll mix dance, energy, and our unique style with rackets and ping pong balls. Performing for royalty is something beyond imagination. We would live it with deep respect, emotion, and all the wonder we carry in our hearts. We’d just have to polish our rackets a bit first!
Drag opera singer Jasmine Rice, 37, is promising another show stopping performance – and outfit – but says she’s struggled with hay fever in the lead up to the final.
Jasmine Rice has impressed the judges with her powerhouse vocals(Image: Tom Dymond for BGT)
“Aside from the usual pre-show butterflies, this British hay fever has me in a chokehold!” said the New York native, who overcame the secret heartbreak of losing her grandmother to progress to the final. “I landed here and thought my nose was auditioning for a solo of its own. But with that all aside I know now it’s just me, my voice, and that big, fabulous stage.”
Comedian Joseph Charm, 32, says he wants to win the show for his family. The dad-of-two, whose mum got involved by hitting the golden buzzer, shared: “Winning the show would be incredible but nothing will ever trump giving my mum that special moment, that will live with me forever.”
On the prize fund, he said: “That’s a lot of money… it would finally allow me to pay for one month of nursery.”
Amanda Holden is gracing our screens for Britain’s Got Talent and her new Netflix show. But away from TV fame, she has shared her beauty secrets and life at her ‘dream home’
17:00, 24 May 2025Updated 17:03, 24 May 2025
Amanda Holden swears by one certain beauty treatment (Image: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Amanda Holden is back on our screens for Britain’s Got Talent as the final of the show fast approaches. But away from her hectic work life, including her new Netflix series, Cheat: Unfinished Business, which was released earlier this year, the TV presenter enjoys a slower pace back in her Surrey mansion.
The 54-year-old has been happily married to her music producer husband Chris Hughes for almost two decades, after they met in the United States. Together, they share two daughters, Lexi, 19, and 13-year-old Hollie.
Over the years, the Heart presenter has retained her bombshell status by keeping fit and up to date with the latest beauty treatments. She even revealed her favourite trick for staying youthful.
As she graces our screens, we’ve taken a glimpse into her lavish life – from her best beauty hacks to eye-watering net worth and family home life.
Amanda pictured in full glam at Britain’s Got Talent semi-final photocall (Image: PA)
Secret to ‘ever-evolving’ marriage
Amanda and Chris first met in the United States in 2003, and got married five years later at St Margaret’s Church in Somerset, followed by a reception at Babington House.
Despite being together for over two decades, she recently revealed why their relationship still feels so fresh. The mum of two explained how happy she is to be in a “lovely, secure relationship”.
She told Hello: “We have ups and downs like everyone else. But when I was looking at the pain and suffering that some of the people we were working with were going through, I felt so grateful that I had somebody in my life with no complications.”
The Britain’s Got Talent judge added: “My husband and I always have this joke where we go: ‘God, our relationship still feels so fresh. Twenty-two years does feel like a long time, but it still feels new to me. I think that’s because it’s ever-evolving.”
Facial she swears by
Amanda shared details of her ‘incredible’ facial (Image: Getty Images)
The TV star has revealed the £700 beauty treatment she swears has reversed her age. It involves sitting down for an hour to get micro-needling, and it’s not for the faint-hearted.
The process includes 24 coated pins which need to be penetrated into the subdermal tissue and coagulate the fat to remodel the face. She boasted about the “incredible” treatment on Instagram and said: “I’ve had collagen wave facials to smooth out my skin ever since @nilamholmes made it available at @dermaspa_mk. It has always given me an incredible lift.
“The other week before filming started on the @bgt live shows, Nilam suggested I try a new natural treatment called Morpheus8! The results have been absolutely amazing. I’ve noticed a real plumpness to my skin and it’s much tighter!”
Huge net worth
Paul C Brunson and Amanda Holden host the Netflix show, Cheat Unfinished Business(Image: Tom Dymond/Netflix)
The glam radio presenter is not only back on Britain’s Got Talent, but is also co-presenting a new dating show with Married at First Sight star, Paul Bronson. Together, they invite estranged couples to have a second chance at love on Netflix.
With her multi-layered career continuing to grow, Amanda now has an impressive net worth of around £3.6 million. While her husband appears to have a net worth of £4.5 million.
She previously spoke about how Chris offers her stability and said: “He’s rubbish at romance, but he’s there for the solid things, such as keeping my car clean and making sure I relax. He’s a proper bloke who looks after me. I’m a strong, opinionated woman, but he helps steer the Mandy ship.”
‘Dream home’
The TV star has shared a glimpse inside her home(Image: mirror.co.uk)
Amanda and Chris reside in the charming village of Cobham in their lavish Surrey mansion, which is thought to be worth around £7 million. Describing her home, she previously told Mail Online: “This is my dream home. My entire life I have wanted the dream home, and you know you do the stepping up and now I’ve finally got it.”
Amanda also shared with The Mirror: “I am house proud, but I’ve got two kids, two dogs and a cat, so it’s a family house. Everything is washable and wipeable. It’s so open plan my littlest can cycle her bike around.
“I don’t have carpets on the ground floor and this is disgusting but I was doing an interview a while ago and my puppy pooed on the floor during the chat. But you don’t worry if you have wooden floors. Two words: wipe clean.”
