Simon Cowell Plots BGT to Defeat The Voice

 

Simon Cowell has told the Britain's Got Talent production team the new season will have to be the 'greatest' ever to compete with The Voice.

BBC One's star search, which features a judging panel of Will.i.am, Jessie J, Tom Jones and The Script's Danny O'Donoghue, launched on Saturday night.

 

The scheduling meant the final 20 minutes of it clashed with the opening of the new series of BGT on ITV1, heightening the competition between the shows.

Simon has returned to BGT to help it take on The Voice, but has told everyone else involved in the programme they need to raise their game to win the ratings war.

'Knowing that was on the horizon, I got all of our team over to America last year,' he told the Sun.

'I said, "We're in a completely different place, this show has got to be the greatest series ever produced".'
He added the BBC's decision to buy The Voice had been a 'wake-up call' for him.

'If someone beats or competes, it means you've got to work better. And in a funny way the viewers benefit,' the 52-year-old said.

BGT's revamped panel, which features Alesha Dixon and David Walliams, together with talent show stalwart Amanda Holden, has already unearthed a potential star.

Teenage opera singer Jonathan Antoine wowed viewers with his performance of The Prayer with Charlotte Jaconelli and bookmakers have installed the pair as favourites to win the series.