Fern Britton

Comedian and TV star Paul O’Grady was set to be the host of Britain’s Got Talent and even have the show named after him until things got very heated behind the scenes

Former Britain’s Got Talent judge Piers Morgan has revealed Paul O’Grady was meant to be the host for the hit talent show, until things went very wrong. The controversial broadcaster was part of the original line up on Simon Cowell’s talent show back in 2007.

Music mogul Simon was inspired by former talent shows including Opportunity Knocks and New Faces as he wanted to create a competition for people of any age and location to enter. He wanted a range of personalities on the judging panel with him, and first settled on Piers and Fern Britton.

Simon set his sights on comedian Paul as host and even planned to name the show, Paul O’Grady’s Got Talent. He met with Piers for lunch in Kensington, London to get him on board.

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Piers admitted: “I owe him a lot actually because I would not have had any career in America without him. He has been great for me. He said ‘I am going to bring back an old all-round talent show like New Faces, Opportunity Knocks and The Gong Show in America. It can be any talent’.”

The broadcaster explained: “We did a pilot at ITV. Paul O’Grady was the host. The judging panel was Simon Cowell, me, and Fern Britton. It was about to be greenlit as a prime-time ITV show.”

Piers said he was ready “to get back in the game” but things quickly took a turn and the production was halted. He said: “Then Paul O’Grady had a massive falling out with ITV, told them to shove it and went to Channel 4.”

At the time, the Paul O’Grady Show moved over to Channel 4 and ITV stopped him being able to rent their studios. Paul decided to refuse all work with the network following the row.

He explained years later: “I did the pilot for Britain’s Got Talent – which was originally going to be called Paul O’Grady’s Got Talent. But I told the producers they were having a joke if they thought I would front a show with that title.

“The original panel of judges was going to be Simon Cowell, Fern Britton and Piers Morgan. I was the host. Then when I had the row with ITV I was banned from the studios.

“I remember I rang Simon and told him he had a huge hit on his hands, but there was no way I could do it. I said, if I am banned I have to be banned from everything. I can’t be a hypocrite and come in and do this. I had to bow out.”

Paul added: “I don’t regret what I did. Not in the slightest. Good luck to them.” He did also manage to patch things up with ITV and returned years later with Paul O’Grady Live!.

Paul’s decision to boycott ITV meant Britain’s Got Talent was hit with a huge delay and Simon decided to kick off with America’s Got Talent first. Simon enlisted Piers again as he wanted “someone who is judgmental, opinionated, obnoxious and arrogant” as him.

Britain’s Got Talent hit screens a year later with Simon, Piers and Amanda Holden as judges and Ant and Dec as hosts. Piers said on The Overlap and Betfair’s Stick to Cricket show: “He had literally come up with the entire concept of Got Talent on a napkin at the Ivy in Kensington.

“Bring back a talent show. Have a tough mean judge, a mother hen figure, a funny person and any talent goes. Now the Got Talent franchise is in more than 60 countries around the world. It changed my life.”

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STRICTLY Come Dancing has seen some iconic pairings during its two decades on screen.

Tonight, the class of 2025 will learn who their pro-partners are on the pre-recorded launch show.

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But many will be hoping their Strictly partnerships don’t go the way of these past duos, who didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye, to put it politely.

Here’s a recap of some of the worst Strictly pairings ever.

Fiona Phillips and Brendan Cole

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Former GMTV host Fiona took part in the third series of Strictly back in 2005.

She wasn’t a natural on the dancefloor, and she has claimed pro-partner Brendan Cole made his feelings on that very clear.

In her book, Remember When: My Life With Alzheimer’s, Fiona – who is battling the disease – wrote: “He could also be seen looking at my dancing and saying, ‘Pathetic, it’s not good enough!’

“Then I’m begging him to ‘stop shouting’ and worrying that I look completely ridiculous. There’s a clip where I say to the cameraman that Brendan is looking at me like he’s stepped in something.

“I really don’t remember much of that time now – maybe I blocked it out because all I recall is the sense that it was incredibly traumatic.”

She added that she was on ‘the brink of tears’ most of the time and quickly regretted her decision to sign up.

Johnny Ball and Aliona Vilani

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Legendary TV presenter Johnny, 87, was part of the 2012 series, where he was paired with the previous years winner, Aliona.

Aliona left the early stages of the 10th series due to an injury and Johnny was paired with Iveta Lukošiūtė instead.

Johnny ended up being the first to be booted off the show, but five years later, in 2017, Johnny launched an astonishing attack on his Strictly dance partners, accusing them of fixing it so he got booted off first.

He told The Sun on Sunday: “Aliona fell on a flat floor in flat shoes and said she had broken her leg.

“The next day she flew to the South of France for a pre-arranged weekend with her boyfriend.”

The star was then paired with Iveta – and he claimed that she devised a routine that was too difficult for him.

He said: “When I was knocked out she said, ‘That’s funny, my contract ends on Tuesday’.”

Aliona later took to X to deny his claims, saying: “I am aware that Johnny Ball has made allegations regarding my fractured ankle during 2012 SCD, which I strongly deny.

“I have instructed solicitors and am taking legal action in relation to his allegations.

“It’s therefore not appropriate to comment further at this time.”

Fern Britton and Artem Chigvintsev

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Former This Morning host Fern, 68, has spoken on a number of occasions about her experience on Strictly.

Fern was paired with Artem, 43, in series 10 in 2012 and was the fifth celebrity to be eliminated.

While her run on Strictly wasn’t long, it was tough, with Fern previously telling The Times: “He would look at my feet and just kick me or shove me.”

Artem denied Fern’s claims of him ‘kicking or shoving her’ during tense rehearsals.

He told the Daily Express: “I believe I treated Fern with respect and genuine care and these claims about me are the opposite of everything I believe in and the person I am.

“I cannot imagine what has prompted such statements which come as a shock to me.”

She added in her book, Fern Britton The Older I Get, how her confidence was knocked straightaway with Artem.

Describing the rehearsals as “challenging”, Fern added: “As the weeks went on, I found it increasingly hard to gather up my self-confidence and there were days I was crying before I even got into the rehearsal room.”

Lynda Bellingham and Darren Bennett

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The late actress and Loose Women star Lynda Bellingham signed up for Strictly in 2009.

She was paired with series two champ Darren Bennett, but the duo were voted out on the fourth week.

Following her death in 2014 from cancer, her husband Michael Pattemore claimed in a book that Lynda had “hated” her time on Strictly.

He wrote: “There were two things about Strictly she didn’t like. One was her body image. She always thought she looked fat. I kept saying she didn’t.

“She picked this ruched gold dress and she said it made her look 20 times bigger than what she was.

“And the other thing, she said her partner Darren Bennett was such a miserable git. There was no laughter, no fun.

“All the way through rehearsals she didn’t mind training hard, but it was solid dance. He was just hard work.

“If Lynda had had a partner like Anton du Beke or someone, now they would have had some fun together.”

Danny John-Jules and Amy Dowden

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Back in 2018, Red Dwarf star Danny was paired with pro dancer Amy Dowden.

While the pair produced some great routines, rumours of behind-the-scenes tension were rife.

The Sun revealed at the time that Danny, 65, had received a final warning by show bosses for “bullying” partner Amy.

The actor had reportedly left Amy in tears during training — at one point angrily telling her: “I’m the star, not you.”

When they were voted off in week eight, Danny opted not to take part in their exit interview on spin-off show It Takes Two, leaving Amy to do it on her own.

Strictly Come Dancing starts tonight at 6.20pm on BBC One.

Alison Hammond has expressed her ‘relief’ at This Morning’s win at the NTAs last night after Dermot O’Leary said the show has been ‘through the mill’

Alison Hammond has expressed her ‘relief’ at This Morning’s big win at the National Television Awards last night. The presenter, 50, provides cover on ITV’s flagship magazine show alongside Dermot O’Leary on Fridays and phoned into the programme after the big win to tell regular hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard just how grateful she felt that they had emerged victorious from the public vote.

The programme, which has aired on ITV since 1989, won in the Daytime category, having fought off competition from Scam Interceptors, Loose Women and James Martin’s Saturday Kitchen. The show managed to claim the title back after two years of losing out to The Repair Shop and The Chase.

Alison said: “I’m still buzzing from last night, what a brilliant night. It was just lovely. We hadn’t had it for two years running now and what’s so incredible is when our audience vote for us, we know we’re doing okay. It was just such a relief and we’re just so grateful that everyone picked up the phone and voted for us.”

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The former Big Brother star has also made a name for herself interviewing A-List celebrity guests on the programme and has chatted to superstars like Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling and once ‘married’ The Rock on the show. But just before hanging up, she teased that she was off to interview Barbie star Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell.

Over the last few years, the show has been through numerous lineup changes following the departure of long-serving hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. The duo, who began presenting together in 2009, first came under fire when they were alleged to have jumped the queue to file past Queen Elizabeth’s coffin in September 2022.

Then, Phillip, who first appeared on the programme in 2002 and initially presented alongside Fern Britton, admitted to an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a younger colleague, and subsequently stepped down from the show and ITV altogether. Holly followed suit soon after security guard Gavin Plumb was charged in connection with a scheme to abduct and kill her.

He was found guilty and last year was sentenced to a minimum of 16 years behind bars.

A litany of hosts like Josie Gibson, Craig Doyle, Rochelle Humes and Andi Peters took their place over a period of weeks before Cat and Ben were given the top jobs.

But speaking in the winners room after their victory, former X Factor host Dermot, 52, acknowledged that the show had been ‘through the mill’ over the last few years, reports Manchester Evening News.

He said: “There’s a team that have worked on the show since I’ve started who have had to endure an awful lot of s**t.

“And they have turned up to work every day with the greatest grace and professionalism and uncertainty, and they’ve never done anything but put their hearts and souls into this job.

“Two and a half hours of live telly every day is quite something, but to endure it under the spotlight of being on the front page of the news. This show holds a mirror up to Britain and it also tries to entertain.”

He also noted that the team was thrilled to win, as he added: “There’s never an arrogance about this. We’re genuinely humbled by it. It means an awful lot, especially for those people who have been through the mill.”

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Fern Britton returned to This Morning on Thursday to promote her new ITV series

Fern Britton shared a personal update as she returned to This Morning on Thursday (June 26).

The 67-year-old is recognised for her stint presenting the acclaimed ITV daytime programme from 1999 until 2009, alongside Phillip Schofield.

Since leaving This Morning, Fern has hosted an array of other successful series, such as Ready Steady Cook and All Star Mr and Mrs, as well as participating in Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.

She was back in the ITV studio today, chatting with hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard about her latest project, Inside the Vet’s, which she labelled “emotional”.

Premiering on July 4 on ITV1 and ITVX, Fern’s new series sheds light on the crucial role played by veterinary teams, reports Wales Online.

She’ll be giving viewers a peek into the everyday work of The Grove Vets in Bristol, covering all aspects from routine health checks and dental work to critical operations and more.

On This Morning, Fern declared: “I found the whole thing very emotional, but so do the vets. Fortunately, we didn’t have any beloved pet who died.”

She added: “I must say, I was just blown away with how respectful the vets were to these animals who were in very insecure situations.”

The conversation then moved to Fern’s latest literary offering, A Cornish Legacy, which tells the story of a woman reconstructing her life in Cornwall – seemingly mirroring Fern’s own life.

The presenter notably relocated to the county back in 2020 after her separation from chef Phil Vickery.

Fern expressed her excitement, stating: “A Cornish Legacy came out a couple of weeks ago and it went straight to number six on The Sunday Times List, so I’m thrilled to bits with that.”

Cat went on to say: “The last I saw of you, you were sitting in your garden writing… Sitting in the garden, enjoying the Cornish countryside, listening to the birds singing.”

“It’s not too bad. Life is good,” responded Fern, before confirming that she’s currently penning her latest novel.

This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10am