There wasn't a dry eye in the house on television show Britain's Got Talent when a surprise auditionee got up to sing. However, some viewers grew suspicious of the segment during Saturday night's return show (April 16), prompting ITV to share an explanation.
Nick Edwards, 36, had a shock as his daughters Savannah and Cali, three and four, were brought on stage by his mother Tracey in a bid to convince him to audition. After nervously heading onto the stage, the dad-of-two told the judges he had “lost a lot of confidence” in himself over the years and tended to only sing in the shower.
When Nick hit the stage at the London Palladium he sang and played the guitar to Daddy’s Little Girl by Ernie Halte. He dedicated the song to his daughters, as the song had become part of the “soundtrack of their life”, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Read more: David Walliams says being parents makes Britain's Got Talent judges more sensitive
Judge Amanda Holden and host Declan Donnelly were moved to tears, with the Geordie presenter insisting he was 'fine' as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Music mogul Simon Cowell, also on the judging panel, added: "It was so sweet, you have a lovely voice" while fellow judge David Walliams confirmed he had "4004 yeses", including the audience.
But that didn't stop eagle-eyed BGT viewers from believing they had identified an issue with the 'surprise' audition, after spotting that Nick was wearing a mic while sitting in the audience. @EmalieWalsh said: "Hmm it’s a total surprise but he was already mic’d up? #BritainsGotTalent."
@AviatorJoe94 commented: "I don’t believe that was a surprise at all, he’s mic’d up. #BGT." @SpinninAlb tweeted the same theory, labelling it a "fake set up".
Britain’s Got Talent denies claims it was set-up. Showmakers explained that an "unsuspecting" Nick was approached when he arrived to be part of a 'Gogglebox' audience so that the ITV show could capture his reactions in the audience.
Speaking on This Morning today, Nick himself said: "A lady came up to us and said 'you're sitting in the Gogglebox chair, in between the acts we scan to the audience and get their reactions'.
"I didn't think much of it, I thought it would be a bit of fun. And then my mum came on stage - my initial reaction was she was going to get the girls [my daughters] to dance."
An ITV spokesperson quoted in the Daily Mail 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."
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