Britain's Got Talent: Simon Cowell's golden buzzer act was ASKED to audition

On Saturday, Britain’s Got Talent returned to our screens with a bang, and we were even treated to the first golden buzzer of the series.

Yes, as the first episode drew to a close, Simon Cowell pressed the prestigious buzzer for 15-year-old singer Sarah Ikumu, who wowed the judges with her rendition of Jennifer Hudson’s ‘And I’m Telling You’.

However, it has now been confirmed that all is not as it seems, with Sarah actually being scouted by Britain’s Got Talent producers and asked to audition.

Speaking to The Sun, a source dished: “A BGT scout spotted Sarah towards the end of last year, when she was performing at a local event. She was asked to audition on the show.

“She auditioned shortly after, and of course completely blew the producers away.”

However, the insider went on to insist that despite the fast track to the judges, Sarah was treated the same as the other contestants, they explained: “There was no special treatment and she had to audition like every other act from then on.

“Simon Cowell had no idea who Sarah was when she first stepped on stage, the scouts worked completely separately, and he was unaware of her and her history.”

A spokesperson for Britain’s Got Talent confirmed the insider’s claims, sharing: “As the only show of its kind in the country, we want to showcase the best talent around and therefore, we travel the length and breadth of the country to find the best talent and make them aware of the show and auditions.

““We do then encourage acts to apply but any such acts will be required to audition on the same basis as any other applicant and normal programme rules apply.

“All acts are judged on their performance during their audition.”

Sarah first started singing at the age of five when her pastor father, Alex Gatoto, convinced her to sing with the church’s choir.

She then started competing in competitions up and down the country, including nationwide competition Teen Star, and she even won a talent show held at her school, dubbed ‘The H Factor’.

Despite only being back from one episode, Sarah’s treatment isn’t the first controversy to hit the headlines, with “novice” impressionist, Jess Robinson, being revealed as a seasoned, established professional despite claiming that she’d only embraced her talent after separating from her husband this year.

Also in the firing line was eight-year-old comic Ned Woodman, with it being revealed that his dad, award-winning comedy writer Liam Woodman, had actually written his scathing script.

Read more:

[ Britain’s Got Talent dancer arrested after £56k cannabis farm is discovered in his house ]

[ Simon Cowell, Ant and Dec rush to help BGT auditionee who collapses ]

[ Britain’s Got Talent in ‘fake’ wow after prankster secretly films audition ]