Britain's Got Talent (series 1)

Britain's Got Talent
Series 1
Broadcast from 9 June – 17 June 2007
Judges Simon Cowell
Amanda Holden
Piers Morgan
Presenter(s) Ant & Dec (ITV)
Co-presenter(s) Stephen Mulhern (ITV2)
Broadcaster ITV
ITV2 (Britain's Got More Talent)
Winner
Paul Potts
Origin Port Talbot, Wales
Song "Turandot"
Genre(s) Classical, operatic pop

The first series of Britain's Got Talent began on ITV on 9 June 2007 and ended on 17 June 2007. It was won by opera singer Paul Potts. The first five shows concerned the audition stages of the competition and the final four shows aired the live semi-finals and final. The show was hosted by Ant & Dec on ITV, while Stephen Mulhern presented spin-off show Britain's Got More Talent on ITV2. The judges were Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.

Background

The series was first intended to air in 2005 before America's Got Talent, but was postponed after original host Paul O'Grady transferred from ITV to Channel 4. Ant & Dec were later decided upon as replacement hosts. David Hasselhoff and Cheryl Cole were originally lined up as judges, but both resigned before the programme was due to air, meaning Holden and Morgan were brought in as replacements. Cowell later employed Cole as the replacement for Sharon Osbourne on The X Factor, as he felt she was better suited to the show. Hasselhoff later joined America's Got Talent and was a judge in the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent.

Auditions

Auditions took place Cardiff, Manchester, Birmingham and London.[1]

Semi-final summary

The "Order" columns lists the order of appearance each act made for every episode.

Key Buzz Judges' choice
  Won the public vote
  Won the judges' vote
  Lost the judges' vote

Semi-final 1 (14 June)

Order Result Artist Act Buzzes and judges' choices
Cowell Holden Morgan
1 Eliminated MD Productions Dance Group
2 Top 3 (won judges' vote) Damon Scott Comedy Puppeteer
3 Eliminated Mel's Klever K9’S Line Dancing Dog Act
4 Top 3 (lost judges' vote) Dominic Smith Singer
5 Eliminated Luke & Charlotte Dancing Couple
6 Eliminated Caroline Boyes Solo Dancer
7 Eliminated The Free Runners Acrobatic free running act
8 1st (won public vote) Paul Potts Opera singer

Semi-final 2 (15 June)

Order Result Artist Act Buzzes and judges' choices
Cowell Holden Morgan
1 Top 3 (won judges' vote) Kombat Breakers Dance group
2 Eliminated Victoria Armstrong Angle Grinding
3 Eliminated Jack Reeve Tap Dancer 1
4 Eliminated Jake Pratt Singer/Comedian
5 Eliminated The Mini-Mezzos Dance Group
6 Eliminated Crazeehorse Acrobatic Act
7 Top 3 (lost judges' vote) Craig Womersley Baton Twirler
8 1st (won public vote) Bessie Cursons Musical theatre performer

Semi-final 3 (16 June)

Order Result Artist Act Buzzes and judges' choices
Cowell Holden Morgan
1 Eliminated Cheeky Bits Dance Group
2 Eliminated Mike Garbutt Comedian
3 Eliminated Doctor Gore Alternative Magic/Comedy
4 Top 3 (lost judges' vote) Tony Laf Singer
5 Eliminated Scott Holtom Solo Dancer
6 Eliminated Crew 82 Beat boxing group
7 Top 3 (won judges' vote) The Bar Wizards Alternative Juggling
8 1st (won public vote) Connie Talbot Singer

Final

Order Finished Artist Act
1 unknown Kombat Breakers Dance group
2 unknown Damon Scott Comedy puppeteer
3 unknown Bessie Cursons Musical theatre performer
4 unknown The Bar Wizards Alternative juggling
5 unknown Connie Talbot Singer
6 1st Paul Potts Opera singer

Ratings

Show Date Official ratings
(millions)[2]		 Weekly rank[2] Share
Auditions 1 9 June 5.20 12 22.7%[3]
Auditions 2 10 June 6.73 8 28.0%[4]
Auditions 3 11 June 7.28 15 29.4%[5]
Auditions 4 12 June 7.39 13 29.3%[6]
Auditions 5 13 June 7.51 11 29.2%[7]
Semi-final 1 14 June 8.36 9 34.0%[8]
Semi-final 2 15 June 9.28 8 38.1%[9]
Semi-final 3 16 June 9.29 7 40.9%[9]
Live final 17 June 11.58 1 43.7%[10]
Live final results 17 June 11.45 2 44.7%[10]
Series average 2007 8.38 TBC 34%
Overall Viewers Share Source
Auditions 6.8m 28.0% —
Live shows 10.0m 40.0% —
Series average 8.40m 33.6% [10]

Controversies

Richard Bates

Series one contestant Richard Bates claimed he quit the show in 2007 after injuring himself in an accident with his electric organ, but in fact the Lancashire Police force had contacted producers to inform them that he was listed on the UK's sex offender registry known as the Violent and Sex Offender Register following an unspecified offence committed in December 2005.[11][12] Lancashire Police stated that they were worried the victim might see Bates on television. As a result, Richard Bates was disqualified.

Kit Kat Dolls

On 16 June 2007 (the last semi-final show of series one), drag act the Kit Kat Dolls were disqualified after the News of the World claimed that three of the members were prostitutes.[13]

Doctor Gore

Ofcom investigated 21 complaints made about Doctor Gore's rather gruesome magic act, and found the programme to be in breach of their broadcasting code.[14]

Paul Potts

During his time on the show, Paul Potts faced allegations that was already an established performer who had trained intensively under Pavarotti in Italy. Potts, who would later win the show denied the accusations, claiming that he had only performed in amateur opera productions, and his lessons with Pavarotti had actually been a single masterclass. This was confirmed by a former singing teacher who stated that Potts was forced to quit singing in 2003 due to illness[15]

References

  1. ↑ Morgan, Piers (1 June 2007). "Talent? I'll be the judge says Piers Morgan". Daily Mail. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  3. ↑ F1 helps ITV win ratings race Digital Spy, 11 June 2007
  4. ↑ BBC 'Dream' pays off Digital Spy, 11 June 2007
  5. ↑ Broadcast Now Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.(subscription required)
  6. ↑ Broadcast Now Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ Broadcast Now Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. 1 2 "Viewing Figures The Authority on Television Viewing > Viewing Figures Home". Viewingfigures.com. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008.
  10. 1 2 3 ITV gets 13.5m with 'Talent' Digital Spy, 18 June 2007
  11. ↑ "Forced out, the Britain's Got Talent act who's also got a sordid secret". Daily Mail. 16 June 2007.
  12. ↑ "Police alert over TV contestant". BBC News. 16 June 2007.
  13. ↑ "Britain's Got Talent…For Hire: Kit-Kat Sex". Unrealitytv.co.uk. 17 June 2007. Archived from the original on 25 October 2008.
  14. ↑ "Broadcast Bulletin Issue Number 91". Ofcom.org.uk. Archived from the original on 29 June 2008.
  15. ↑ This is my lifelong dream, says the singing salesman
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