Fans of Britain’s Got Talent were left disappointed after ITV decided to remove the beloved talent show from its Saturday (15 March) night TV schedule.
The much-anticipated BGT, which is a staple for many on Saturday evenings on ITV1 and ITVX, was unexpectedly taken off-air to make way for the Six Nations Championship coverage. The final match of the rugby tournament, featuring France versus Scotland, began at 8pm, clashing with BGT’s regular timeslot.
Disgruntled viewers expressed their frustration on social media platforms, criticising the decision as “unnecessary” and lamenting that their Saturday night entertainment had been disrupted.
One vexed viewer posted: “Joke taking #BGT and #The1PercentClub off for rugby, there’s 3 other channels they could put it on and they have to take everything off for. Saturday night best night for TV and it’s ruined.”
Another fan voiced their annoyance directly to ITV: “@ITV taking the p**s bumping @BGT #BGT for the football (sic). Completely unnecessary, plenty of other channels to put this on,” reports the Mirror.
A third person realised the absence of the show, saying: “Suddenly thought I was missing #BGT, then remembered it’s not on this week #SixNations,” while another simply stated: “Nah just realised there’s no Britains got talent tonight #BGT.”
However, viewers can look forward to the return of Britain’s Got Talent on Saturday, 22 March, when it will resume its regular broadcasting slot on ITV.
The latest series of the show commenced in February, with judges Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Bruno Tonioli back on the panel to assess a variety of acts. Ant and Dec have also reprised their roles as hosts of the ITV programme.
The new series has already showcased an array of talent, with six Golden Buzzers having been pressed. The auditions in Blackpool also saw the show welcome YouTuber KSI as a guest judge, earning high praise from television viewers.
This year’s series is set to continue until the end of May, with episodes broadcast every Saturday night. In contrast to previous years, when the BGT semi-finals were aired consecutively during the week, leading to an earlier conclusion of the show.
Britain’s Got Talent usually airs on Saturdays on ITV1 at 8pm