ITV Britain's Got Talent viewers slam Amanda Holden as she praises 'best opera singer on the show'

Amanda Holden has found herself in hot water with Britain's Got Talent fans after hailing an opera singer as 'by far the best we've had.'

The hit reality show returned with a double-bill starting on Saturday night (April 20), which saw Ant and Dec return as hosts and Simon Cowell, Bruno Tonioli, Alesha Dixon and Holden back on the judging panel.

But it was on Sunday's show (April 21) that Holden made the controversial comments. Closing the latest round of auditions was opera singer Innocent Masuku, who walked away with four yeses after he sang a rendition of Caruso by Lucio Dalla.

READ MORE: ITV Britain's Got Talent viewers say 'stop' as they spot 'annoying' issue minutes into show

Dixon said his performance was “overwhelming” while Holden said he was “by far the best opera singer we have ever had”. But fans weren't happy with the comment, with many taking to X, formerly Twitter, to share why.

@TomJebb8 said: "Clearly Amanda having amnesia. "That's the best opera singer we've ever had".... Clearly she forgotten about Paul Potts" as @chelseasandrax agreed: "“the best opera singer” have they forgot about susan boyle and paul potts??? #BGT".

@philm2244 wrote: "Best opera singer on #BGT? What about Paul Potts?" as @danielweekender added: "Bit of a kick in the teeth for Paul Potts that one Amanda #BritainsGotTalent #BGT".

@Imtherealanon reckoned: "He's very good, but he's not the bet opera singer on #BGT. I haven't forgotten Paul Potts. He was and is amazing."

Paul, now 53, shot to fame after winning the first ever series of Britain's Got Talent in 2007. He stunned with his performance of 'Nessun dorma', an aria from Puccini's opera Turandot. Meanwhile Scott Susan rose to prominence two years later, in 2009, after appearing on the third series of Britain's Got Talent. Singing I Dreamed a Dream from Les Misérables, she placed second, losing out to dance troupe Diversity.

Away from Britain's Got Talent, Holden found herself in a spat with former X-Factor judge Sharon Osbourne. Earlier this month, Osbourne, aged 71, took to X, formerly Twitter, in response to a Daily Mail article in which Holden seemed to allude to her comments on Celebrity Big Brother regarding Cowell's ability to maintain friendships.

Osbourne and Louis Walsh took part in the revamped ITV show last month, where they spoke about the people they'd previously worked with. Discussing Cowell, Louis said: "I haven't talked to him at all, nothing, zero". Osbourne chimed in: "But that's Simon. He cuts you off. He doesn't know how to keep friends."

Meanwhile, Holden was reported as saying she "hated seeing certain people in a reality show dissing Simon" and pointed out that he had been instrumental in their careers. Since, Cowell himself has weighed in on the disagreement.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, he said he still considered Holden, Osbourne and Walsh as 'good friends.' He explained: "If you put Sharon and Louis in the house, that's what you pay them for, they're going to be controversial. I still consider Sharon and Louis really good friends, we could pick up the phone to each other tomorrow."

"I think that's probably one of the things they're upset about, because they can never get hold of me. Amanda is a great friend, but I really do believe Sharon and Louis are great friends as well."

"I don't have a phone but from what I heard, what they said about me was actually quite funny. And I probably will phone them both in the next week or so because I haven't spoken to them for a while and it sounds like I should do."

Britain’s Got Talent continues on Saturday April 27 at 7.30pm on ITV1.