Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Britain's Got Talent: ITV delays live finals due to coronavirus

It's currently unknown when they will take place

Jacob Stolworthy
Tuesday 24 March 2020 11:23 GMT
Comments
Boris Johnson announces nationwide lockdown to tackle coronavirus

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

ITV has made a big Britain’s Got Talent announcement after Boris Johnson put the country on partial lockdown.

The long-running reality competition is set to kick off on the channel in the coming weeks, broadcasting its pre-record audition episodes.

However, the live finals – which usually take place in May with the judging panel led by Simon Cowell – have been delayed until “later in the year”.

A spokesperson said: ”We have been working with the brilliant production teams at Thames and Syco to find a way of making the live finals work, which were due to be broadcast at the end of May.

“However, in light of the latest government health guidelines and in line with our priority of safeguarding the well-being of everyone involved in our programmes, production of the live shows cannot go ahead as planned.

“The live finals will therefore be broadcast later in the year.”

BGT's current judging panel is comprised of Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams.

Earlier this week, ITV announced it was suspending production of soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale and would be pulling daytime show Loose Women from its schedules.

Find a full list of everything cancelled or delayed by coronavirus here.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in