Simon Cowell announced on Monday that he’ll be returning to Britain’s Got Talent as as a judge. The return should help BGT, which has struggled on ITV after he left last season. (Via The Hollywood Reporter)
In order to “change the perception of the show” Simon will be plowing $410,000 of his own money to double the winner’s prize packet to $820,000.
He’ll be joined on the panel by Strictly Come Dancing’s Alesha Dixon, and Little Britain star David Walliams.
David Hasselhoff and and Michael McIntyre, who were added to the panel last year, won’t be returning. Admanda Holden is the only one remaining.
“I miss Britain and I miss the British public and I miss judging them. I want to find the next generation of talent in 2012,” he said.
“By coming back in 2012, it’s the year of the Olympics, it’s a big year for Britain, we are going to be in the world’s spotlight and I want this show to be back in the world spotlight.”
“I love originality, I love great singers, I love great comedians. I love things I’ve never seen before. Everyone thinks I hate magicians, well I hate bad magicians, but I’d love to find a great magician. I’d like to find the next Nsync or the next Backstreet Boys, the next Justin Bieber.I’ve always dreamt about finding a dog who can play guitar. And we’ve failed. So I want talented dogs. I really want one that can dance or can play an instrument.”
BGT’s American counterpart, America’s Got Talent, is also going through some changes, with the announcement of the addition of controversial radio personality, Howard Stern to its judges’ panel. Howard will be replacing Piers Morgan who quit to concentrate on his CNN talk show.
Simon has similar concerns about AGT. He told the LA Times after Howard’s hire became official, “I don’t think the show over the years has done a good enough job at finding what I would have liked,” Simon said. “The ratio between hit and miss, it’s not good enough at the moment.
“I hope that with Howard’s name – and we’ll see what his skill set is like – you can spot that little diamond and help turn them into a star. I don’t think the judges have done enough in the past at actually assisting them in the next rounds….We’ve got to change that.”
Will Simon Cowell be able to turn Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent into star making machines? What do you think?
