Broadcast from 9 June – 17 June 2007 Co-presenter(s) Stephen Mulhern (ITV2) | Presenter(s) Ant & Dec (ITV) Origin Port Talbot, Wales | |
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Judges Simon Cowell
Amanda Holden
Piers Morgan Broadcaster ITV
ITV2 (Britain's Got More Talent) | ||
The first series of Britain's Got Talent began on ITV on 9 June 2007 and ended on 17 June 2007. It was won by opera singer Paul Potts. The first five shows concerned the audition stages of the competition and the final four shows aired the live semi-finals and final. The show was hosted by Ant & Dec on ITV, while Stephen Mulhern presented spin-off show Britain's Got More Talent on ITV2. The judges were Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.
Contents
Background
The series was first intended to air in 2005 before America's Got Talent, but was postponed after original host Paul O'Grady transferred from ITV to Channel 4. Ant & Dec were later decided upon as replacement hosts. David Hasselhoff and Cheryl Cole were originally lined up as judges, but both resigned before the programme was due to air, meaning Holden and Morgan were brought in as replacements. Cowell later employed Cole as the replacement for Sharon Osbourne on The X Factor, as he felt she was better suited to the show. Hasselhoff later joined America's Got Talent and was a judge in the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent.
Auditions
Auditions took place Cardiff, Manchester, Birmingham and London.
Semi-final summary
The "Order" columns lists the order of appearance each act made for every episode.
Semi-final 2 (15 June)
Richard Bates
Series one contestant Richard Bates claimed he quit the show in 2007 after injuring himself in an accident with his electric organ, but in fact the Lancashire Police force had contacted producers to inform them that he was listed on the UK's sex offender registry known as the Violent and Sex Offender Register following an unspecified offence committed in December 2005. Lancashire Police stated that they were worried the victim might see Bates on television. As a result, Richard Bates was disqualified.
Kit Kat Dolls
On 16 June 2007 (the last semi-final show of series one), drag act the Kit Kat Dolls were disqualified after the News of the World claimed that three of the members were prostitutes.
Doctor Gore
Ofcom investigated 21 complaints made about Doctor Gore's rather gruesome magic act, and found the programme to be in breach of their broadcasting code.
Paul Potts
During his time on the show, Paul Potts faced allegations that was already an established performer who had trained intensively under Pavarotti in Italy. Potts, who would later win the show denied the accusations, claiming that he had only performed in amateur opera productions, and his lessons with Pavarotti had actually been a single masterclass. This was confirmed by a former singing teacher who stated that Potts was forced to quit singing in 2003 due to illness