Simon Cowell made his thoughts on rival talent shows very clear at Britain’s Got Talent auditions this week.
Simon reunited with Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and David Walliams for filming of the 2020 series in London on Saturday.
And when one hopeful took to the stage, Simon reportedly shared his problems with The Voice UK and The Masked Singer.
With ITV recently announcing a mega five-year deal to keep Britain’s Got Talent on air, Simon is quoted as saying (via The Sun): “When I see shows like The Masked Singer or The Voice, where people have their back to a singer – which I find so disrespectful – if we’re not careful, people like you won’t have these shows to have a shot on.
“Which is why I am very thankful ITV have given us the five-year deal they did.
“Where else do you go? If the future is shows like that, you might as well give up. There’s talent in every country. You showcase people and give them an opportunity.”
He added: “It reminds us why we make these shows, to meet people like you. Otherwise it’s just going to be an ex-soap star dressed as a monster, and I can’t think of anything more depressing.”
Britain’s Got Talent will return to TV with its fourteenth series in the Spring.
Auditions are currently filming at the London Palladium before moving to Manchester next month.
In a video shared on social media at the weekend, hosts Ant and Dec revealed that a golden buzzer had already been given out on the first day.
“Day one of auditions here at BGT 2020. And we’ve already had our first golden buzzer on day one, session one. And it’s good,” they said.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Got Talent 2020 applications are currently still open if you want to perform for the judges.
The deadline for online applications is 9 February 2019 at 23:59 GMT.
