Ant and Dec brought laughter to the set of Britain’s Got Talent by pranking judge Simon Cowell behind the scenes.
After welcoming his son Wilder last May with wife Anne-Marie Corbett, Ant McPartlin was eager to be reunited with co-host and pal Declan Donnelly for some playful antics on the hit ITV show’s 18th season. This year, the pair pimped Simon’s car with a sticker of him on the toilet.
“We did have a bit of a laugh at the judges’ expense,” Dec says. The pals pranked the judges by giving them a Golden Buzzer mobile to attend each audition – complete with a nod to Britain’s Got Talent star Simon Cowell.
“They were driving through Blackpool with a bit of a cheeky picture of Simon on the side, which he didn’t realise,” Dec remembers. “Everybody in Blackpool was pointing and laughing. Simon just thought they were really impressed with his new car!”
Known for his blunt critiques, the music mogul, 65, proved his dedication to his role on the popular competition by putting his neck on the line. “There’s a lot of danger this year,” says Ant. “There was a moment this year where we were scared for Simon’s life. It was all a bit scary!”
Returning to the judging panel with Simon are Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Bruno Tonioli. But Ant and Dec were delighted to welcome a special guest judge too. YouTube sensation KSI, 32, has agreed to fill in for Bruno while he was away filming Dancing With The Stars in America and takes part in BGT’s first round of auditions.
“He judged in a way that no judge has ever looked at the acts before,” Dec says. “He brought energy, enthusiasm and a really interesting viewpoint. He looked at whether acts would work online and go viral.”
Auditions for this season were filmed at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, where spectators made their presence known. “They’ve been very vocal,” Ant says, “They really get behind the acts and they’re not afraid to have a go at the judges if they don’t agree with what they say. They’ve been like a fifth judge.”
For years, BGT has followed a tried-and-tested formula for its live semi-finals, airing them back-to-back across a single action-packed week. This year, the show is shaking things up by opting for a weekly format.
Britain’s Got Talent has long been a global phenomenon, with millions of streams on ITVX and international fans recognising Ant & Dec in the most unexpected places.
“They always ask, ‘do you definitely not know what’s coming next and whether an act is good or not?’. But we genuinely don’t,” Dec says. “We don’t like to know about the surprises, we want to be surprised too.”
Ant recalls a particularly surreal fan encounter while travelling in Dubai. “I got stopped in a shopping mall by a fan who called me Susan Boyle Boy, because he recognised me from a clip,” he says. “I’ve been stopped in Australia, Abu Dhabi, the Caribbean, America. Everywhere we go we get recognised because of Britain’s Got Talent.”
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