Why Amanda Holden is ‘delighted’ Britain’s Got Talent has been delayed

Amanda Holden has revealed she’s pleased with the decision to delay this year’s Britain’s Got Talent.

ITV confirmed this week that Britain’s Got Talent 2021 was postponed due to the ongoing lockdown.

“With the announcement of the latest Government health guidelines and with our priority of safeguarding the well-being of everyone involved in our programmes we, together with the production teams at Thames and Syco, have taken the decision to move the record and broadcast of the forthcoming series,” ITV said.

Speaking on her Heart Breakfast show, Amanda shared: “We were due to start filming on the 18th of January and then it was pushed to the 28th.

“Then we got the call before the press release just saying, ‘Look I think out of every show on television Britain’s Got Talent needs the audience’.

“We need you guys, because we call them the fifth judge and it just makes no sense not to have them behind us.”

Amanda went on to say she was “delighted” with the decision.

She explained: “I think it affects the show and it affects the quality of the show and with the biggest will in the world – because there’s so much hard work backstage and everyone’s really done a huge effort to make it the best show it can be – it still affects it…

“I would rather wait and make it the best it can be and put it on in the Autumn”.

ITV has yet to officially announce a new schedule for the series, which usually begins on TV in April.

Sources have claimed producers currently hope to film the auditions in the summer and air the show over the autumn.

An insider told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “If the vaccination process goes to plan and we are all closer to normal in the summer, we are very hopeful that we could make the series then. It would be brilliant to have Britain’s Got Talent for the autumn schedule.”

Last year’s series was also interrupted by the pandemic, with the semi-final shows eventually starting in September, airing pre-recorded episodes on Saturday nights.

It was comedy singer Jon Courtenay who won the series in October.

Picture: ITV