Inside Britain’s Got Talent judges’ bitter feuds – from pay rows to shock axes

Britain’s Got Talent has come under fire plenty of times for their controversial acts on the show.

But what fans may not know is that there is often just as much drama going on backstage as there is on stage. The ITV talent show, which stars celeb judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli, returned for the 17th series last month.

The quartet are back to scour the nation for hopefuls ready to battle it out to take home £250,000 and a coveted spot on the bill at the Royal Variety Performance. While the judges love to paint the picture that they’re best friends on set, behind-the-scenes there’s been no shortage of drama.

READ MORE:David Walliams swerves Britain’s Got Talent question after axe for vile comments

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As the live final approaches, Daily Star has taken a deep dive inside some of the biggest feuds and rivalries that have taken place on the star-studded judging panel.

Legal battle

After being axed from the ITV talent competition in 2022, David sued the makers of Britain’s Got Talent Fremantle for a reported £10million. The comedian stepped away from the show after a recording of him making offensive comments about the contestants was leaked to The Guardian.

The former Little Britain favourite is said to have claimed in court documents that producers “recorded, transcribed and retained” all of his conversations during his 10-year stint. He added that the comic was completely unaware his microphone was “kept on and recording” for the entire day of filming.

He alleged that 1,700 hours of audio recording were collected which included personal conversations with his fellow judges about the impact of his father’s death. He also claimed he battled severe depressing since he was booted from the show and had “active suicidal thoughts.”

In November, it emerged that David agreed to a settlement which is thought to be “way under” the £10million he hoped for. The MailOnline claims that the sum is comfortably less than £5million.

Fremantle accepted that their security procedures had failed which allowed Walliams’ comments to be leaked to The Guardian which pushed them to settle.

Pay row

Bruno joined the BGT judging panel last year following David Walliams’ departure. In the weeks leading up to confirmation that he would be joining the show, the former Strictly Come Dancing star was surrounded with speculation about his bumper salary.

It was reported at the time that the ballroom dancer would receive an eye-watering £850,000 for the 2023 series. A source told The Sun: “He’s managed to triple his UK Strictly salary and beat off strong competition from favourite-for-the-job Alan Carr, who is friends with a lot of the cast and crew.”

It was claimed that Bruno would receive the same salary as longtime judges Amanda and Alesha on the show. Following Bruno’s appointment, it was reported that the series was thrown into chaos when Amanda and Alesha refused to sign contracts after learning of the former dancer’s hefty salary.

An insider told The Sun: “Amanda has been on BGT for 17 years, while Alesha is going into her eleventh year. They don’t think it’s fair a newcomer could walk into the show and be handed the same deal as them.

“Bruno was still ironing out his contract on Friday too so it’s all very much down to the wire.” Bruno was confirmed as the newest judge on the show when he strutted onto set. And he certainly made an impact on the show when he pressed the Golden Buzzer for the first act he saw.

On-screen ‘feud’

During the 16th series of BGT, viewers were quick to claim they’d spotted a secret feud between Alesha and Bruno. Eagle-eyed viewers spotted supported tensions between the singer, 44, and the dancer, 67, during the second live semi-final.

Viewers noticed that the former pop princess appeared not to look at her co-star when he shared his views about each act. It didn’t take long before fans flooded to X – formerly known as Twitter – to share their concerns about a possible feud online.

One user penned: “Love how much Alesha hates Bruno” as another added: “It’s v obvious Alesha can’t stand Bruno”. A third agreed: “I’m not convinced Alesha likes Bruno very much.”

A fourth chimed in with: “Genuinely feel sorry for Alesha Dixon having to sit next to Bruno! It must be like having an annoying fly that just won’t go away.” As another echoed: “Find Bruno SOOO cringe! Anyone else think Alesha looks like she’s had enough of him being OTT too?”

Later on, Amanda shut down any concerns of a backstage feud between Bruno and the other judges. She told The Sun: “He’s a wonderful ball of energy and in a good way he’s already broken every rule.

“So much so that Simon will probably have to throw out any rulebook this year.”

Pay-rise drama

After ITV wrapped the 2023 series, it was reported that Bruno had already been given a pay rise, no doubt frustrating his fellow judges. Insiders at the time predicted that the news would annoy Amanda and Alesha, who later threatened to quit over reports he was commanding a bigger salary than them.

Simon was said to have settled the situation by confirmed that Bruno was earning less than his female co-stars, who have been on the panel for more than 10 years. A TV source told The Sun: “The moment Amanda and Alesha get wind of this they will be asking some serious questions of the execs on the show.

“It’s nothing personal aimed at Bruno, both of his fellow judges love him and feel he’s fitted in brilliantly, and they know the show’s bosses aren’t about to give him a higher wage than them.

“But Amanda has been on BGT for 16 years and Alesha has clocked up 11 years, and there’s now the prospect of him bagging a pay deal that brings him close to them after just one series.” Bruno’s deal is reportedly reviewed annually, whereas Amanda and Alesha both signed a three-year contract back in January.

Short-lived stint

In 2009, Kelly Brook was a surprise addition to the BGT judging panel, alongside Amanda, Simon and Piers Morgan. But less than a week on the show, Kelly was sensationally axed from the programme.

The model has since claimed in subsequent years that Simon has never revealed the real reason why she was booted from the ITV talent show. At the time, she accused her Geordie co-hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly behind her exit.

She claimed that it was the comedy duo who didn’t take a shine to her than led to her early exit from the show. She told outlets: “There was nothing I could do in this country after Britain’s Got Talent.

“The people at ITV were telling me that I had upset Ant and Dec and that was it. I would love to have stayed on the show. I really felt it was working out. Ant and Dec had never been anything but pleasant to my face but, clearly, they didn’t want me on the show.”

Years later, the TV duo opened up about their first meeting with Kelly on the programme. They wrote in their autobiography that when Kelly turned up for her first day on set, she asked them what they did on the show and made it clear she hadn’t watched the show before.

It’s fair to say Kelly’s version of events contrasts with theirs. She later claimed: “For the record, I didn’t go begging for a job on Britain’s Got Talent.

“Simon Cowell approached me, and I think his intentions were completely honest. He had seen how X Factor worked when he brought in Cheryl Cole, so he tried to do the same thing with BGT.”

Comic axe

Comedian Michael McIntyre also had a brief stint as a Britain’s Got Talent judge for just one series back in 2011. At the time, it was announced that he was leaving the show to focus on his nation-wide tour.

But the funnyman had a different view in his autobiography when he confessed to feeling “rejected and upset” after he was axed from the show. He wrote: “I felt rejected and upset.

“Adding my name to the list of people Simon Cowell had fired was a blow to my ego. My publicist Gary Farrow had already released a statement saying I’d quit the show to concentrate on my tour, and that became the narrative.

“I jumped before I was pushed. Now out of the train, it wasn’t that bad. The most positive thing I can say about my [BGT] experience was that nobody remembers it.”

Explosive row

Most recently, the Heart FM presenter found herself embroiled in a surprise feud with an X Factor mainstay. Although she is close friends with her fellow judges, the blonde bombshell defended head judge Simon after Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh tour into the music mogul on Celebrity Big Brother.

In a venomous letter posted on X – formerly known as Twitter – Amanda branded the duo “bitter and pathetic” for their comments after she said Simon had “given them a lot of money and a lifestyle they probably wouldn’t have had.”

Amanda later told the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine: “I hated seeing certain people in a reality show dissing Simon – he’s the person who’s given them all the chances, given them a lot of money and a lifestyle they probably wouldn’t have had.

“It’s bitter and pathetic. It was like Cinderella with her two sisters in the background – just stabby, stabby, stabby.” Just 12 hours later, Sharon took to X to issue the broadcaster a scathing response and accused her of being an “ill-informed sycophontic.”

Following their exchange, Amanda added that she stands by what she said, while acknowledging the X Factor judge’s “incredible” career. A spokesperson for the actress told MailOnline: “Amanda is aware of Sharon’s incredible career but, just like her, Amanda will always defend those close to her.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk