Britain’s Got Talent final shifted for Ariana Grande gig
ITV has moved the live final of Britain’s Got Talent forward by a day — to this Saturday — so it does not ‘distract’ from this weekend’s Manchester tribute concert.
The channel took the decision after it emerged that Ariana Grande’s One Love Manchester show will be broadcast on BBC One on Sunday night.
An ITV spokesman said: ‘Ariana Grande’s One Love Manchester benefit concert is bringing artists and the public together, and will raise funds for the Red Cross’s Manchester Emergency Fund.
‘ITV and Britain’s Got Talent have no desire to distract from this important cause, so we have taken the decision to move the Britain’s Got Talent final from Sunday night.’
On Sunday, Ariana will be joined by a stellar list of names — now including The Black Eyed Peas — when she returns to the northern city less than two weeks after the terrorist bombing that occurred at the end of her concert.
Other acts on the line-up include Katy Perry, Coldplay, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Niall Horan, Take That, Usher and Pharrell Williams.
This means the BGT final — featuring eight-year-old magician Issy Simpson and comedy conjuror Matt Edwards — will now be broadcast on Saturday night, and the British Soap Awards, which had been scheduled to air then, will now be screened next Tuesday.
At last night’s semi-finals, Issy burst into tears and said she felt ‘very good’ as she won the public vote.
Meanwhile, Edwards, who has been compared to a young Jim Carrey and singer Robbie Williams, danced on the spot wearing a huge grin as he heard he was through to the final.
Britain’s Got Talent semi-finals continue at 7.30pm tonight
Author: Anna Thomson
