Britain’s Got Talent will not air next Saturday night (May 11), ITV has confirmed.
The show – which is on ITV1 tonight (May 4) as usual – has been replaced in the TV listings by Bond film Casino Royale.
ITV hasn’t revealed why the move has been made, but some TV experts reckon they’ve figured out why, and it’s all down to the Eurovision Song Contest airing on a rival channel at the same time as BGT should’ve been on…
Britain’s Got Talent replaced by ITV
Britain’s Got Talent returned to our screens last month, with hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly presenting the talent show. Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli sit on the judging panel.
However, the boys will be missing from our screens for the first time in months next Saturday night.
And fans reckon that’s because ITV has moved BGT to Sunday night (May 12) to stop it clashing with Eurovision.
“The power of Eurovision!” declared one fan of the singing competition.
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‘They moved BGT last year too’
The Eurovision Song Contest will air on May 11, with live coverage from Malmo arena in Sweden starting at 8pm and is expected to continue until around midnight.
This isn’t the first time the show has been rescheduled to avoid clashing with Eurovision. It was also moved last year, when Eurovision was held in Liverpool. The contest pulled in around 8.5 million viewers last year.
“They know everyone will watch Eurovision on BBC One,” said one telly expert. “They moved BGT last year too. Eurovision pulled in around 8.5 million viewers last year,” said another.
Telling sign that they feel threatened by the Doctor Who-Eurovision combo.
“I forgot they did last year, although that was to be expected as last year’s Eurovision was broadcast from the UK. This year, I expected BGT to stay on the Saturday because it doesn’t have the unique factor of it being broadcast on home turf this time round,” said another.
“Interesting to see that ITV have postponed next week’s BGT until Sunday. Now I’m not a fan of Eurovision, but the fact that ITV has chosen to move one of its biggest flagship shows is a telling sign that they feel threatened by the Doctor Who-Eurovision combo.”
BGT is on tonight (May 4) at 7.30pm on ITV1. It’ll be on next Sunday (May 12) at 7.40pm on ITV1.
Read more: Why Britain’s Got Talent boss Simon Cowell wears red glasses on the show
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