Simon Cowell has revealed the future of Britain’s Got Talent, after ITV canceled the show days before filming began 18 years ago.
The music mogul, 64, told MailOnline he intends to become a TV giant in the coming years and hopes the show will surpass 20 series.
Ahead of series 17, which begins on Saturday, Simon explained that because Britain’s Got Talent attracts artists from all over the world and has the ability to create “life-changing” moments for its contestants, he doesn’t see an end date. especially since talent only gets better.
It comes after presenters Ant & Dec decided to end Saturday Night Takeaway after two decades, with BGT just three years away from reaching the same milestone.
But Simon has no plans to stop making the show as he looks back on the early days of the series and how it was “cancelled” before TV bosses gave it a final lifeline in 2007.
Simon Cowell has revealed the future of Britain’s Got Talent, after ITV canceled the show days before filming began 18 years ago.
The music mogul told MailOnline he intends to take on the TV giant in the coming years and hopes the show will surpass 20 series (pictured with Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden in 2007).
Ahead of series 17, Simon explained that Britain’s Got Talent attracts artists from all over the world and has the ability to create “life-changing” moments for its contestants (pictured in 2023).
He said: ‘This show has a very interesting story about when we started because we made the pilot here and it was rubbish and then luckily we sold it to America and it was a hit and then thank God ITV bought it…, but three days before the scheduled date to film, they canceled it.
‘So we went to Birmingham, because I didn’t tell anyone, thinking we’ve got 24 hours and if it doesn’t work out on the first day, we’re toast and thank God the first day went well.
“I always thought, if we could get three or four years out of this, that would be amazing and then get to 10 years and that’s a milestone…
“Because so many people come from all over the world to compete and it’s not just about winning the show, but having that viral moment that can literally change your life overnight… these clips sometimes get hundreds of millions of views…that’s why people will come back year after year and hopefully continue to compete and improve.
“That’s what I’m seeing, is that thank God the acts are improving and since the show is all ages, I think it will be here for a long, long time.”
The former X Factor boss believes Britain’s Got Talent has “evolved” because it is now on a global scale, with this year’s series welcoming contestants from countries such as the United States and South Korea.
But Simon still hopes to be captivated by the original acts and has little tolerance for contestants who bring him a worse version of what he’s seen on stage before.
He added: “Firstly, I like to be surprised, secondly, you want them to be great, and thirdly, you don’t want a worse version of what you’ve seen before because it’s boring.”
Britain’s Got Talent launched with Ant & Dec as presenters in 2007 and Simon revealed that the show almost didn’t appear on television due to having a “rubbish” pilot (pictured in 2007).
The former X Factor boss believes BGT has “evolved” because it is now on a global scale, with this year’s series welcoming contestants from countries such as the United States and South Korea.
Simon still hopes to be captivated by the original acts and has little tolerance for contestants who bring him a worse version of what he has seen on stage before (pictured in 2023).
“This show has evolved now where you have artists coming from all over the world to compete, so I think that makes it more exciting, where you have British artists competing with artists from all over the world because that’s real life, now you go to YouTube “. and there are artists from all over the world, that’s why I really enjoyed this series.”
Simon reveals he flew back to the UK early from America to support Ant & Dec during the latest Saturday Night Takeaway.
And he was impressed by the high level of the show, which he said was like watching several performances at once, as well as the number of celebrity guests who participated in the final live broadcast.
He said: “I literally flew in early from America because I knew it was going to be the last one and I sat in the dressing room watching the show thinking ‘Oh my God, it was like a million shows in one.’ “I’ve never seen so many well-known people in my life. life in one night because we are good friends.
‘I was talking to them afterwards and they were very excited, but I told them: if you’re going to be on a show like this, then you’re going to come out on top, and boy, they came out on top.’
Being part of the latter show gave Simon the opportunity to reunite with former X Factor co-star Cheryl, who was the guest host on Girls Aloud.
Revealing that he would be working with Cheryl again, Simon also confessed that he “missed” his friend and former colleague, while praising her style as a judge.
He added: “She hasn’t changed at all. I miss her. We had a lot of fun working together… so it was kind of a reunion. I would definitely work with her again in the future with the right show because I think she did a great job.” really good. Our sons Eric and Bear know each other and get along well.’
- Britain’s Got Talent returns with a new series on Saturday at 7.30pm and Sunday at 7.40pm on ITV1 and ITVX