Britain’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowell was left “star-struck” during an upcoming audition, which he said he’ll “never forget”.
The hit talent competition returns to ITV next weekend (February 22) for its 18th series, with more episodes than ever before.
This year, the BGT semi-finals will air weekly, rather than every night during the May half term – extending the series to over four months long.
An official teaser released on Wednesday (February 12) shows exciting highlights from the upcoming auditions, with lots of incredible acts gracing the stage.
They include a special choir that was entirely made up of people who were directly affected by the British Post Office scandal – one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in UK history.
Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 subpostmasters were wrongly prosecuted – both privately and publicly – for theft, false accounting or fraud due to a faulty computer system called Horizon.
The story was adapted for television in 2024. Mr Bates vs The Post Office received wide acclaim following its release, winning several National Television Awards. The series even led to new parliamentary legislations being introduced to exonerate wrongly convicted subpostmasters.
Speaking to the Daily Record and other media at a press event for the new series of BGT, Simon shared his admiration for the choir, and explained how invested he was in their “shocking” story.
“I’d heard about this story, and then I watched Mr Bates, I watched everything… [It] was probably the most powerful drama, piece of TV, I’ve ever seen in my life,” he explained.
“So, when I actually saw them, I was actually quite star-struck, and it was a really, really powerful moment.
“And I think it will remind people at home again, because it’s not finished yet what happened to them, it’s still going on. That was a moment I’ll never forget, and they were really good.”
Amanda Holden reiterated how “good” the choir was, before explaining that the group wanted to do something positive after the years of negativity they faced together, which she said was “amazing”.
“Hopefully they get what they deserve, they really deserve to be recognised and they have to do something about it because it’s shocking, it really is,” Bruno Tonioli added, with Simon confirming that he’ll “never buy a stamp again”.
The judges also noted how “special” the BGT auditions are, sharing their passion and drive for continuing the show, so that they can shine a light on deserving people – like the Post Office choir.
As well as the heart-warming singers, the upcoming series will also feature lots of impressive magic acts, impressionists and dance troupes – with a few jaw-dropping moments, too.
“I don’t want to give it away, but I think that people are gonna be very, very happy… We’re spoilt for choice this year,” Alesha Dixon concluded.
Britain’s Got Talent premieres on Saturday, February 22 at 7pm on ITV1