ITV confirms 'Britain's Got Talent' return date

Britain’s Got Talent is set to return in September after being delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The audition rounds of the show aired earlier this year but the semi-finals and grand finale were put on hold when the UK went into lockdown.

However, ITV has now confirmed that they will go ahead from September 5.

The semi-finals will take place over five, pre-recorded episodes and the winner will be crowned in October.

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It has already been announced that Diversity star Ashley Banjo will fill in for Simon Cowell on the judging panel, as the music mogul is still recovering from surgery after breaking his back testing out an electric bike.

Banjo will join regular judges David Walliams, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden, who previously promised fans that the way Britain’s Got Talent returns is going to be “leading the way for the future”.

Speaking on her Heart radio show earlier this summer, Holden teased that big plans were afoot but jokingly refused to say exactly what was on the cards for the programme because she didn’t want other shows to “nick the idea”.

She said: “I spoke to the producers yesterday and we remain hopeful that there will be a big family audience for Britain’s Got Talent.

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“And I’m just going to say, we will be leading the way for the future in TV in how people will watch our show live.”

It has since been reported that the acts vying to win the show will be cheered on by a virtual audience, whose reactions will be shown on a big screen in the studio.

Britain’s Got Talent, hosted by Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, returns to ITV at 8pm on September 5.