BRITAIN’S Got Talent bosses have signed a £120million deal to stay on ITV until 2028.
There is also another Champions Special lined up that will see the best global BGT acts compete next year.
The series, which last year expanded to run over three months, has had huge success, including being watched 27billion times online since starting in 2007.
This current run began four weeks ago but has already had 317million views in various forms across multiple platforms, and BGT now has 51million followers online.
A TV insider said of the deal: “This is a huge vote of confidence in the show, which celebrated the best week of overnight ratings for this series at the weekend.
“It also proved TV execs are looking beyond traditional viewing figures when making strategic decisions.
“Shows like Strictly have seen live viewing figures decline in recent years.
“They haven’t seen that compensated by viewers switching to other ways of watching, whereas BGT’s figures for streaming and on platforms such as YouTube have gone through the roof.”
Simon Cowell and production partner Fremantle will take the show beyond its 20th anniversary next year, with judges Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and KSI expected to return.
KSI has millions of online followers and helped boost the viewing levels since joining the panel last year.
Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions will be a future highlight. It has not been staged since 2019, when acts from various “Got Talent” shows around the world came together to compete.
The event in front of 10,000 people at Wembley Arena, which was won by dance act Twist And Pulse, is expected to be matched when it returns.
DANNY PRIDE AS SIEGE HERO
DANNY DYER has been discussing his most serious role to date – playing hero policeman PC Trevor Lock in upcoming thriller The Siege.
It is the true story of how the bobby, who died last year aged 85, played a pivotal role in the SAS raid that ended the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege.
And Danny seemed to be channelling the best of British in this photoshoot for Rolling Stone magazine, which features him flanked by three lions.
Talking on Virgin Radio about filming The Siege, which started last week, he said: “I am playing old bill, I’ve finally made it. I’m really excited about playing someone who’s a hero.
“This man only wanted to help old ladies cross the road and rescue cats out of trees and he got swept up in this very dangerous situation.
“I went to see his sons the other day. I had a lovely day, I must say. I spent the whole day in Upminster and they gave me their approval.
“I’m going to be representing Trevor Lock, so it’s going to be very powerful and it’s very relevant at the moment.”
BRENDA WEALTHY WOMAN
BRENDA BLETHYN returned to our screens last night playing the world’s richest woman in bonkbuster A Woman Of Substance.
But in real life, the actress who plays tycoon Emma Harte in the new Channel 4 drama isn’t short of a bob or two either.
Records show Waltonmay Ltd, the performing arts company she owns with her husband Michael Mayhew, was voluntarily liquidated and distributed £7.7million to them.
That couldn’t have been better timing, as Brenda enters a new chapter in her life having turned 80 last month and waving goodbye to 12 years of playing TV detective Vera.
Now she can afford to swap the mac and hat for furs and diamonds if she wants to.
THE mystery of Paul McCartney’s missing Beatles bass guitar hits BBC Two next month.
This new documentary delves into what happened to the music legend’s beloved 1961 Hofner, which disappeared for 51 years.
The Sun revealed in 2024 that it had been discovered in an attic in Hastings, East Sussex.
Sir Paul himself helps enlighten us in McCartney: The Hunt For The Lost Bass.
CHRIS ON RACING JOB EXIT
EX-Love Islander Chris Hughes has broken his silence after being axed from his dream job as a presenter with ITV Racing.
He started co-hosting the Cheltenham Festival and Royal Ascot in 2019.
But last year he was told he would no longer be a regular on the show Social Stable, amid rumours of a pay row.
He said on X: “I never once asked for more money. I was told they were cost cutting across sport.”
Despite the cost-cutting claims, Chris has since been replaced by two influencers.
A post on X introducing GK Barry and Calfreezy to Social Stable rocketed to a million views in 23 hours.
Perhaps that explains it.
’CUFFS ARE HOT STUFF
WHEN Channel 4 announced Jonathan Ross would be shackling strangers together for a new TV show, I thought he might have finally lost it.
But it turns out Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing would become his best move yet.
Hosted by Jonathan, below, the quirky social experiment, which challenges unlikely pairs to live together in cuffs, is now one of the broadcaster’s top ten unscripted launches of all time.
Its opening episode won a 24 per cent share of 16 to 34-year-old viewers, up 141 per cent on the slot average. It has also had a million streaming views to date.
A TV insider said: “Handcuffed is another youth streaming hit for Channel 4, and the viewing numbers prove a series like this can be a big success when the channel gets back to its roots.”
