Britain's Got Talent's Nick Edwards reacts to accusations of staging
The dad-of-two was surprised by his family with a chance to perform during Saturday's show.
Britain's Got Talent contestant Nick Edwards has responded to claims that his audition was staged following Saturday's show, insisting he had no idea that his family had entered him in the competition.
On this season't premiere, the father-of-two was seen sitting in the Britain's Got Talent audience before being surprised by his mother and children, who revealed that they entered him in the competition.
He then stepped onto the stage and performed a rendition of Ernie Halter's 'Daddy's Little Girl', with all four judges putting him through to the next stage of the competition.
While viewers questioned the authenticity of the on-screen moment, Edwards appeared on today's This Morning to speak about the audition, telling Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond: "I was in tears the whole day pretty much.
"They gave me some time to warm up - about 45 minutes in total. They gave me my guitar my family brought down on the day. [The producers] said this is the song we want you to sing because we'd seen it on your Instagram."
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Edwards said of wearing a microphone while in the audience: "We arrived and we sat down and a lady came up to us and said, 'You’re sitting in the Gogglebox chairs. In between the acts, we scan to the audience and get their reactions and stuff.’"
He added that his nerves almost got the better of him, saying: "The whole thing just went so quickly. I do remember playing and in a way my fingers started to get a bit jelly. I remember thinking, 'This is going to be a big moment for you. I don't want to stuff it up.'"
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ITV has also denied claims that the audition was fixed in any way, telling The Sun: "We loved welcoming back our BGT viewers back last night after a year away.
"To report or allude to anything being staged or contrived regarding Nick's audition would be false and incorrect."
They added: "Quite simply, when Nick entered the Palladium auditorium during BGT auditions, he was approached to be part of our ‘Gogglebox’ audience and told he would be mic'd up so we could capture his reactions throughout the day as he sat in the audience.
"He was totally unsuspecting. We did this so we could mic him up without him suspecting a thing."
RadioTimes.com has reached out to ITV for any further comment.
Britain's Got Talent 2022 continues at 8pm on Saturday on ITV and ITV Hub. If you’re looking for more to watch check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Entertainment hub for the latest news.
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