Britain's Got Talent returned to our screens over the weekend, after two years off-air due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
After the forced hiatus, judges Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell, David Walliams and Alesha Dixon all reunited to once again search for the country's next big star, and unearth some previously undiscovered talent.
However, within hours of the first show premiering on ITV on Saturday night, speculation began that certain aspects of the show had been 'fixed' - with several auditions causing a few eyebrows to be raised by viewers tuned in at home.
The Greatest Showman singer
The most controversial moment from Britain's Got Talent's opening episode over the weekend came as singer Loren Allred gave a breathtaking rendition of Never Enough from The Greatest Showman soundtrack.
The hopeful contestant's performance was enough for judge Amanda to hit the Golden Buzzer, but some of those watching from the sofa felt Loren had an unfair advantage over other wannabes.
It was revealed on Saturday night's show that Loren was actually the original voice behind the musical movie's smash hit single - the very song she belted out for her audition.
While Loren doesn't appear in the film, which starred Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and Zendaya, she did provide the vocals for the iconic performance of the hit track, with the part played by actress Rebecca Ferguson, who stars as opera singer Jenny Lind.
"I think some of you might have heard my voice, but you won't know my face," the singer told the audience on stage at the London Palladium.
In addition to her stint on The Greatest Showman, the 31-year-old American singer has also appeared on reality show The Voice and duetted with the likes of Michael Buble and Andrea Bocelli.
During her time on The Voice US, Loren was coached by Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine and made it all the way to the live shows before being booted off.
Speaking in a statement regarding the 'fix' accusations, a spokesperson for Britain's Got Talent said: "Whilst most people will have heard the infamous Greatest Showman track, Loren is not a household name, and she deserves her spot on the BGT stage.
"It’s fantastic that Loren is now able to step out and stand in her own right to be the face, and not just the voice, of one of the most well-known tracks of all time."
Amazon Prime comedian
Comedian Axel Blake impressed judges, the audience and viewers with his charming persona and witty jokes on Saturday night's show - receiving a Golden Buzz pass through to the live semi-finals from Simon.
However, many were quick to point out how Axel, 33, is already a pretty successful stand-up comedian with a show on one of the world's biggest streaming platforms, Amazon Prime.
"Apparently that comedian has already got a stand up show on Amazon Prime. Yet another wasted golden buzzer. It's an absolute fix. Tom Ball should've got the golden buzzer tonight. #BGT," one fan fumed on Twitter over the weekend.
Another added: "so last night there was a golden buzzer for a singer with a net worth of 2 million and a song in one of the biggest movies to ever exist and tonight’s golden buzzer was an award winning comedian who has an amazon prime show???? wtf is happening this series #BGT."
The dad-of-two works as a property maintenance manager but has been working on the comedy circuit for several years now - even supporting high-profile names like Dave Chappelle and Eddie Griffin on stage.
His very own live stand-up show, Axel Blake: I’m Not Gonna Lie, was held at The O2 in 2018 and went on to be released on Amazon Prime in 2020.
'Gobsmacked' dad
Britain's Got Talent fans were cynical and skeptical about one contestant's 'surprise' performance over the weekend.
Nick Edwards impressed the panel and the audience on Saturday night's show, after being secretly entered into the competition by his two daughters.
Simon and his fellow judges were enchanted by Savannah and Cali, aged three and four, when they walked on the stage with their nan, leaving dad Nick stunned as he thought the family was just there to be part of the audience
The adorable siblings said they wanted their dad to audition and surprising him was the only way to get him in front of the buzzers- leaving viewers to question if Nick really had no idea about it.
"When he was sat in the audience did he not wonder where his mum and kids were? He said they'd come on a day out together," one viewer mused on Twitter, with another pointing out he was already wearing a microphone: "Complete surprise but he's got a microphone on...Ok sure."
However, with this one there is a simple explanation to why Nick was already set up for his surprise on-stage performance.
An official BGT spokesperson said: "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.
"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".
*Britain’s Got Talent continues this Sunday at 19:35 on ITV and ITV Hub.
