Britain's Got Talent 2012
Published: Monday, 2 January 2012, 11:52AM
SIMON COWELL AND AMANDA HOLDEN RETURN TO BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT ALONGSIDE NEW JUDGES DAVID WALLIAMS AND ALESHA DIXON.
ANT AND DEC RETURN AS HOSTS.
· £500,000 cash prize on offer to winner.
· First open audition on 22nd January in partnership with Virgin Media.
ITV, talkbackTHAMES and Syco TV today announce that Simon Cowell will return to hit show, Britain’s Got Talent, when it arrives back on our screens for a sixth series in Spring 2012.
Joining Simon on the panel will be actor and comedian David Walliams, singer, songwriter and dancer Alesha Dixon, alongside returning Judge, Amanda Holden.
Simon Cowell said: “I miss Britain and I miss the British public and I miss judging them. I want to find the next generation of talent in 2012. Different and new acts, younger and better talent. You want someone who can be a star all over the world and by coming back in 2012, it's the year of the Olympics, it's a big year for Britain, we are going to be in the world's spotlight and I want this show to be back in the world spotlight. This year I really felt that I've got to put my money where my mouth is, so I'm personally putting up £250,000, so that's £500,000 cash to the winner, so that's a big incentive.”
“I'm absolutely delighted David is joining the panel. He thinks he can do a better job than the people there before so it's going to be fun. I think he's terrified!”
"I love Alesha. She is feisty, opinionated and knows what it's like to be both a competitor and judge on a hugely popular TV show. This is going to be a brand new experience for her and I think she is going to bring a lot to the table. I'm really looking forward to working with her and hope we get the opportunity to find a star together".
David Walliams said: “I am so thrilled to be the new Cheryl Cole.”
Alesha Dixon said: ” I am delighted to be joining the judging panel of Britain’s Got Talent for 2012, it's a fantastic show and I am very excited to be working with Simon, David and Amanda on the search for a new star. "
Amanda Holden said: “I'm really excited to be back on Britain's Got Talent, it's so much fun and I can't wait to see what talent the UK has on offer this year! Having Simon back will be great - I've missed my work husband being on the panel and keeping him in check every now and again.”
This year the stakes are higher than ever as the prize for the winner will no longer be £100,000. Britain’s Got Talent is upping the ante by offering £500,000 cash - £250,000 of which will be out of Simon’s own pocket. The winner will also perform at the Royal Variety Performance in 2012.
Britain’s Got Talent will also be holding its first ever open audition in partnership with Virgin Media on Sunday 22nd January at London’s Oval, to welcome new and exciting acts from across the UK the chance to show off their talent.
Elaine Bedell, ITV Director of Entertainment and Comedy said: “We all really missed Simon during the BGT auditions last year, so I’m very pleased he’s back this year for the whole run. There’s no Head Judge quite like Simon Cowell. And I’m delighted David and Alesha will be joining Simon and Amanda on the panel. David is one of the country’s top entertainers and a big fan of Variety, and Alesha's career in showbusiness has already taken in both pop music and TV entertainment. I expect all those acts waiting in the wings to audition in 2012, are as excited with this panel of judges as we are.”
Jeff Dodds, Executive Director of Brand & Marketing Communications for Virgin Media said: “This year Britain's Got Talent is leaving no stone unturned in its search for the best of Britain's Talent. Virgin Media is delighted to be involved in the first Open Audition and will be ensuring our customers have a chance to be a part of it!”
ADDITIONAL QUOTES FROM SIMON COWELL:
Simon Cowell on:
· Missing Britain and his return to Britain’s Got Talent.
· David Walliams and Alesha Dixon to join Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden on the panel.
· The £500,000 prize and why he's putting up £250,000 of his own money.
· Wanting to find a better winner than even his own show, The X Factor.
· The search for younger contestants and a guitar playing dog.
· Announcing the Open Audition in London on 15th January in partnership with VirginMedia.
"I miss Britain, and I miss the British public, and I miss judging them. I've worked in America all this year and it was great to go back to America, but now I've kind of got itchy feet again.
Even though they are both my shows, I would like to find a better winner on Britain’s Got Talent than The X Factor. To me it’s a challenge. What I really, really passionately believe when I do these shows is that you have to find someone who can be known all over the world from appearing on the show. That's what happened with Paul Potts and that's what happened with Susan Boyle.
Normally we have a £100,000 prize pool for the winner and you get to appear on the Royal Variety. I think this year I really felt that I've got to put my money where my mouth is and I'm personally putting up £250,000, so that's £500,000 cash to the winner, so that's a big incentive.
I came back because most importantly I want to change the perception of the show. I think there's a notion with the show that all we want is older people who can sing opera. I don't mind that, but at the same time, the whole notion of this show is to say it's open for people that can't just sing. It could be a new young comedian; it could be something we've seen on YouTube. I don't know what it is, but you want someone who can be a star all over the world, and by coming back in 2012, it's the year of the Olympics, it's a big year for Britain, we are going to be in the world's spotlight and I want this show to be back in the world’s spotlight.
I love originality, I love great singers, I love great comedians. I love things I've never seen before. Everyone thinks I hate magicians, well I hate bad magicians, but I'd love to find a great magician. I'd like to find the next Nsync or the next backstreet Boys, the next Justin Bieber. I've always dreamt about finding a dog who can play guitar. And we’ve failed. So I want talented dogs. I really want one that can dance or can play an instrument.”
-ENDS-
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Note to Editors:
About Britain’s Got Talent:
Got Talent, was created by Simon Cowell and is co-produced by Syco television and Fremantle media. Got Talent is an award winning global ratings hit, breaking audience records in multiple territories worldwide. Local versions of the “Got Talent” format currently air in 49 countries worldwide, including France, Germany, The Netherlands, U.K. and the U.S. China's Got Talent received an record breaking 575 million viewers for the finale in July 2011 whilst America's Got Talent consistently remains America's Number 1 rated summer entertainment show and is watched in 125 countries. Australia’s got Talent was the most watched show on Australian television in 2011.
Britain’s Got Talent is the No.1 entertainment show of the last decade in the UK, attracting peaks of over 20 million viewers. Britain’s Got Talent first launched on 9 June 2007 and was the UK’s highest-rated new entertainment programme that year, attracting a peak audience of 11.6 million viewers. It built on this success the following year, and in 2009 Britain’s Got Talent attained a peak audience of 18.3 million viewers, ranking as the UK’s number one entertainment programme of the last decade and the highest-rated show of the year. Britain’s Got Talent 2011 was the entertainment show of the year in the UK, consistently beating ITV1’s prime time average by up to 120% for individuals (4+) and by up to 191% for young adults (16-34). Britain’s Got Talent ranked as the No. 1 show in its time slot, beating its nearest competitor by an astonishing 500% for all viewers.
The official Britain’s Got Talent website, www.itv.com/talent, is produced by talkbackTHAMES digital with ITV and is the online home for Britain’s Got Talent 2011.
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About talkbackTHAMES:
talkbackTHAMES is one of the UK's most successful production companies providing award winning programming for all major terrestrial and digital channels. With an unparalleled range of programming including - The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Celebrity Juice, Take Me Out, Over The Rainbow, to Grand Designs, Great British Railway Journeys, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, The IT Crowd, QI, The Rob Brydon Show, The Sinking of the Laconia, Kidnap and Ransom, Four Rooms to The Apprentice - talkbackTHAMES has aired over 350 hours of programming on terrestrial TV in the past 12 months alone.
talkbackTHAMES is the UK Production arm of FremantleMedia, the global production and content business of the RTL Group, Europe’s largest television and radio company.
About SYCO ENTERTAINMENT:
Syco Entertainment is a global joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment focused on the production and exploitation of music, television, film and digital content. Syco is responsible for 70% of Sony's UK profit and is the No.1 supplier of UK talent around the world. Syco TV and Music includes the global TV franchises 'The X Factor' and 'Got Talent' which currently air in over 60 countries. Syco Entertainment is based in London and Los Angeles.
About Virgin Media:
Virgin Media is the primary media partner of Britain’s Got Talent . The new cross-platform brand partnership includes broadcast sponsorship of all Britain’s Got Talent programming, online sponsorship of the official Britain’s Got Talent website, mobile and a host of off-air licensing opportunities. The partnership also extends to sponsorship of hit U.S series America’s Got Talent, which returns to ITV2 next year.
Virgin Media is the first provider of all four broadband, TV, mobile phone and home phone services in the UK. The company delivers ultrafast broadband connections to over half of all UK homes, with speeds of up to 100Mb, and is expanding this cable network – the result of a multi-billion pound investment – to reach thousands more people across the country.
Virgin Media has developed the most advanced interactive television service, bringing together broadcast TV, thousands of hours of on demand programming and the best of the web in a single set-top box powered by TiVo. The company was the first to offer HD TV and 3D on demand to millions of UK households.
Virgin Media also operates the most popular virtual mobile network in the UK which, when launched, was the world’s first such mobile phone service. It is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the country.
Virgin Media Inc. is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market and the London Stock Exchange (VMED).
For more information, go to www.virginmedia.com