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Piers Morgan on Britain's Got Talent

Piers Morgan on Britain's Got Talent
  • Posted at 1:21pm
  • 26 May 2009
  • by PaulJones-RT
  • 8 comments

Britain's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan - who described singer Susan Boyle as "our very own Rocky" - talked to RT about some of the key battles the phenomenon has thrown up.

The people v Britain's Got Talent

"People need to bear in mind that we are trying to produce good television… I think the whole debate about 'truth in television' has gone way too far. A show like ours… is all about entertainment, and in the end you have to have a sense of realism about that."

"But I do think it's important for the integrity of BGT that the public understands very, very clearly that the judges have absolutely no contact with the contestants before they walk on stage… The moment the acts walk in front of the judges is absolutely pure. We genuinely have no idea what is coming our way."

America's Got Talent v Britain's Got Talent

"Britain's Got Talent is not like America's Got Talent, where you end up with a final where everyone can sing and they all fit the bill of good-looking young people. Ours is the ultimate variety show, where literally anything goes. Yes, there's an element of the old-fashioned freak show, but I always believe that when you get to the semi-finals and finals, we all want the best talent we can find and that, in the end, is a matter for the British public to vote on."

The tabloids v Britain's Got Talent

"It irks me when, week after week, especially from my own tabloid world, there's a burning need to belittle the show and degrade how awful it all is, when actually it's the most popular show on British TV."

Big Brother v Britain's Got Talent

"We are the opposite of Big Brother, which gets held up as some kind of democratic social experiment… Big Brother is about celebrating the talentless. Britain's Got Talent is 100 per cent about celebrating talent… It has become an international flag-waving show for British excellence. That's something we can all - and should all - be proud of."

Want to take on Piers Morgan yourself? Post a comment below.

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Post a comment | 8 comments

Comments

  • Posted on 05 June 2009
  • at 9:11am
  • by Phil

To answer Paul good television is NOT a freak show especially when it drives somebody into a psychiatric unit or causes children to burst into tears in front of millions of people.

  • Posted on 30 May 2009
  • at 9:12pm
  • by kitty

great show great performers wish them all the best of luck tonight greetings from belgium

  • Posted on 30 May 2009
  • at 5:38pm
  • by Julia

It's just a talent show and as such is nothing new! There have been many on TV over the years from "Opportunity Knocks" back in the 60s to "Stars in their eyes".

It's totally addictive, but that's not the same as saying that it's great TV in the sense of artistically great. And, of course there are many people who are there just for their 15 minutes of fame and who give us luridly disgusting acts to watch and whose dubious talents are best confined to working men's clubs or the bosom of their loving and blind families. But there are also undiscovered real talents (Didn't Charlotte Church get her chance in a similar way?). We need shows like BGT to show us that we don't have to be confined by our lives and can at least try to do something to change things.

  • Posted on 30 May 2009
  • at 4:43pm
  • by margaret

BRITAINS GOT TALENT IS A VERY GOOD SHOW AND GIVES EVERYONE A CHANCE TO SHOW WHAT THEIR MADE OF, its a pit lily allen doesnt keep her thoughts to herself because she could find the public turning on her and its them who made her what she is, if she's judging the show against her and she's a professional its not saying much for her - good luck to all the judges and contestant

  • Posted on 30 May 2009
  • at 12:36pm
  • by Paul

How can you define good television Phil? What is good television to one person is not always going to be good television to another, can't you guys just accept that tastes in entertainment vary???

  • Posted on 30 May 2009
  • at 12:13pm
  • by w r 138

i say Phil & Masy your spot on the show is dredfull thank god for the bbc. They have thier fair share of dribble but at least they do make some good show as well. My little girl (6) was whatching BGT the other night when that lady got her breast's out i mean what sort of message doe3s that send out.As for the childern on the show performing seal's thier so called parents should hang thier heads in shame.I find it very sad and quite worring to think Britain on the whole love's this kind of show!!

  • Posted on 27 May 2009
  • at 6:50pm
  • by MazY

I can only really echo Phil's comments. It is depressing that BGT is held up as a poster-child of great modern television. I see it as everything that is wrong with modern television. It is cheap, disposable, nasty, and ultimatley profits only one party - the judges, Simon Cowell in particular.

Comparing Susan Boyle to Elaine Paige makes the programme appear even more ludicrious, as though the programme makers really believe the show is generating talent on the same level as more established acts.

Sure, celebrate the fun of the acts, but please, let's not get carried away here. There is no Elaine Paige in that show!

Of course the show gets millions of viewers. What's the competition? And who is it appealing to? The millions of others generally talentless individuals who think they can crack the big time with half a singing voice and a sob-story.

  • Posted on 26 May 2009
  • at 2:03pm
  • by Phil

It is depressing that Mr Morgan believes that putting on a freak show is considered in the modern age to be entertainment or good television. The way Susan Boyle was treated when she first came on stage was unforgivable and appealed to the audience's baser instincts. Just because a progamme is popular doesn't mean it is good or worthy. As far as celebrating excellence is concerned that is nonsense. Elaine Paige is an excellent professional singer while Susan Boyle is just a moderately talented amateur. The progamme is just a device for getting cheap entertainment without having to pay professionals.

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