After all the pressure Susan Boyle is reported to be under, the whole debacle of tonight's show, Natalie Okri breaking down, the abysmal of standard of the act involved, has the show had its day?

I honestly think the Hollie Steel debacle could mark a complete change of fortune for Simon even.

I truly do.

What do you think?

Bump!

Wow, the forum is buzzing tonight!

I think you have a point there. I'm not sure his empire will be badly affected, but he will lose a lot of the voting public and a lot of credibility.

very possibly, whilst everyone talking about her being good, bad, her mother, the ramifications of a child having melt down on live TV are being ignored. A bad press day for simon i reckon. It was not comfortable viewing regardless of wether you think it was tantrum led, or genuine fright. either way it was not good for the kid, the viewer, simon or the show in general.

I think in a way, the popularity of the show this year, the huge amount of media attention and thus all the scrutiny will work against it. Because things are definitely looking that bit less shiny and fun this year.

The bigger it becomes, the more histrionics it attracts: There might be a few articles talking about stress for the contestants or whether children should be allowed to enter, but it WILL probably blow over.

The whole show was just embarassing and in a way quite tragic...

I can see the headline: "Talent show destroys 10 year-old girl on LIVE TV."

It could definitely damage BGT's image.

The ratings will be huge tomorrow, even if they weren't going to be already. I can see 16/17 million tuning in now.

Mmm, I'm not so sure. I think all the buzz about Susan Boyle and little kids breaking down will probably work in his favour if anything. Hollie having a strop made the national news within half an hour of it happening, it will only add to the public interest in BGT.

I think it will definitely highlight the harm these kind of shows can do to people...

Whatever the judges' reasons for putting her through, the GBP generally will think they put her through because of the tantrum. Not good for Cowell and co.

I think we will se a miniumum age of 16 introduced.

Cowell's empire probably won't be effected too much however, unless there are several rule changes on BGT, the show will probably collapse.

I think it was more cynical than that - I think she was acting out what her mother told her to do in order to create tension & sympathy & win over the judges and the public... clearly the British public including many on this forum have never heard of such stage school manipulation & it worked as intended

Nah, ds is just full over dramatic whiners who have had an extra dosage of cranky this evening.

The mental wellbeing of contestants will be the most damaging.

These people/children need real guidance and counselling...

We were saying (joking!) that there'll be a programme a few years down the line with Hollie, Aidan, Shaheen, etc. talking about how BGT ruined their lives and they've all run up massive therapy bills...

I think we will see a miniumum age of 16 introduced. You cannot even do a paper round at under 16 so why are they allowed on live TV particularly in these types of show.

I quite liked the first two series of BGT. But this series has really turned me off with us being told who should win before the semis even started and the two young kids crying, amongst other things

This whole week, especially tonight, will go down in television history...

The only rule change that would work is either a minimum age limit for this show or a separate show for kids only. As for Hollie, she wasn't the only child to cry (Natalie), but to be singled out for her "courage" at redoing the song when she had been given a lifeline is proof that kids are favoured too much. `Would the same happen if an adult fluffed their lines?

I mentioned this in the "bullying" thread.

Sure, many millions are expected or will tune in tomorrow. However, that isn't to say that what the viewers will be watching will guarantee them to come back next year, as I doubt this will be the case. I expect a big backlash from the press and general public against this show, as the growing cases of anxiety and pressure just keeps building up, and there seems to be more questions being raised over the morality of both the production team and viewers, who will probably feel guilty taking part in such a fascinating yet contrived tv experience. And as the press' tide will turn, so will the viewers, as they feel the pressure to change and not be caught up in the Simon Cowell juggernaut. Of course, BGT isn't going anyway. For now at least. I think this series, which hasn't been anything about talent and more about stunts imo, has marked a new period. A bad one.

I think that's a bit much. Clearly the little girl was under a tremendous amount of pressure - as were all of the contestants - and it was just far too much for her.

To imply that it was somehow planned by her mother and carried out by the child is unnecessarily cynical, especially under the circumstances.

It was not good tellie and why they put her through to the final is a mystery. I think it will turn people off.

I was particulalry thinking of Susan because even though she's an adult, she's a vulnerable one totally unprepared for what's happened to her.