Paul O’Grady

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

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.

Simon set his sights on comedian Paul as host and even planned to name the show, Paul O’Grady’s Got Talent. He met with Piers for lunch in Kensington, London to get him on board.

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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.”

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This Morning star Alison Hammond has issued a brutal response to cruel trolls who have called for her to be axed from an ITV show.

Alison Hammond has delivered a blunt three-word message to critics calling for her axe from an ITV programme – “deal with it”.

The host has responded to demands from online trolls over her position on For The Love Of Dogs.

The 50-year-old broadcaster took over hosting the ITV programme after Paul O’Grady’s death in 2023 and two years on she continues to face scrutiny.

Yet, the This Morning favourite has served up a brutal comeback. Chatting to The Guardian, Alison declared: “People say Pete Wicks would be better than me at presenting For the Love of Dogs.

“He might be, but I’m doing it. Deal with it! I know my worth. Besides, my mum would have been so proud. That’s why I do this. She’s my guiding light.”

Additionally, Alison referenced a TikTok clip showing a woman slamming her involvement in Celebrity Gogglebox,” reports Birmingham Live.

Alison revealed she is “good at saying no” and will reject opportunities if they don’t fit her schedule or when she requires downtime.

She went on: “It may seem like I’m on TV a lot, but I stand out partly because it’s still not common to see a Black woman doing this.

“I don’t want to bring race into it but nobody says that about Davina or Ant and Dec. I’ve worked hard for 22 years to get here.”

Alison emphasised she is merely “doing a job that I adore to the best of my ability, trying to be better than I was yesterday”.

Previously this year, Alison was stunned when a vicious online bully branded her “repulsive”. She shared a light-hearted video of herself driving a tractor in a cornfield on social media, with the caption: “Rolling into my holidays.”

However, a comment from a 77-year-old man named Peter left her almost speechless. Peter’s comment read: “People say Pete Wicks would be better than me at presenting For the Love of Dogs.

“Any time we see you are on TV we switch channels as you turn our stomachs being so fat and repulsive with a huge mouth.”

Clearly distressed, Alison retweeted his comment with a single word – “Wow”.

One fan, rallying behind the presenter, commented: “Alison you know how special and fantastic you are.”