Len could be offered a quiet deal on the mid-week show. Allowing him to still earn here and be in the states (although it had a poor year, so it might not be seen as the safer option).

I don't see them booting anyone. And Bruno is a big part of the show - him and Craig are the most entertaining judges.

If another were to go I think its pretty safe to say Arlene would at least be offered a position as she was always a bit like a head judge.

I agree that they will always be vulnerable to those headlines. But I think the press will report on any ratings decline much more with Alesha on board than if say, someone like Danni was hired, because newspapers just love the whole BBC ITV/ex-BBC rivalry thing. Personally I think they should've just gone with a safer name for the 4th spot without all the fuss or hype. Simon Cowell returning and David Walliams coming in should generate enough pre-launch hype/buzz anyway so I don't see why they had to bring Alesha into the equation too.

For me, Britain's Got Talent, more than TXF, is about the acts rather than the judges. The original 3 lineup of Simon, Amanda and Piers wasn't particularly that tabloid friendly (Simon aside) nor did they argue much or drum up controversy with fake arguments etc IIRC but the show worked well. After the launch onwards, the most important thing is about getting the talent selection right and having one or two contestants who will generate a lot of buzz and press coverage (Paul Potts, Susan Boyle) which in turn will result in higher ratings. To be fair to Alesha, I think she comes across pretty well from what I've seen of her and she may well turn out to be a hit with viewers, but I just think weighing everything up, there's more cons than pros with her appointment. But anyway, for the next series it's imperative that for the first time in 2-3 years they get the talent selection and contestant stories spot on, and that IMO will mostly determine whether the series soars or sinks after the initial launch. The talent last time was pretty dire, they need to improve it significantly next time to keep the show on top of its game, especially with a potential rival programme airing around the same time too (The Voice).

The judges aren't as important for BGT as they are with TXF, notice how much fuss there was regarding TXF's new judging panel and how little fuss there was about last year's BGT. Ant & Dec are also important for BGT as they play a much larger role in the auditions stage compared to what Dermot does on TXF.


Tonight's Channel 4 'mash up' seems to be the lowest key birthday celebration ever in the history of Birthdays. It has generated zero publicity and is about 11 months too early!

Everyone in this thread should also celebrate their birthday today, because they will be having one later this year.

I get that but if this is some sort of exercise to fight back against Strictly then I think it's ill-judged as SCD doesn't make a big thing of the judges like XF does.

In all honesty Strictly won't miss her and BGT won't gain much from having her.

She might be better suited to BGT as she has a professional background in singing so at least should have some input to give there but I do feel ITV/Syco have wasted a place on the BGT panel that could've gone to someone who'd really make a difference.

I'm very surprised no-one has yet suggested Christine Bleakley for BGT - they will, they will

Strictly signing up Alesha was a (failed) attempt to emulate the Cheryl Cole effect on TXF.

BGT signing up Alesha is all about Cowell's ego. He's pissed off because Strictly got rave reviews last year and The X Factor got slated.Talk about petty-minded. Careful not to trip over that bottom lip, Simon.

in theory, Alesha could do both shows as they're on at different times of the year. But this is good news for Strictly. They should sign up Darcey Bushell straight away.

This could provide Channel 4 with the identity that some people say it lacks Channel 4, the Birthday Channel.

The CH4 'Mash-Up' sounds cringey to me.

I don't know what it is but when a channel takes it's established 'presenter talent' and uses then in a slightly different way than normal it's just so embarassing.

The BBC newsreaders on CIN and so on comes to mind.

Lot of talk about Alesha rather than ratings eh??

Just saying

Yes, seems daft to be celebrating so early. The sad part is it's only a celebration of what they do now rather than what C4 has been about through the years. Unless there is something planned along those lines for November.

It's a pretty clever concept getting various C4 personalities to 'take over' different shows but with overexposed formats like Come Dine and Million Pound Drop dominating proceedings, it'll look much like a typical night on C4 for those simply scrolling the EPG, albeit with sloppier timings than usual.

I'll watch Countdown and that's it. I did think it was a nice touch that that got the best slot of the night.

I didnt consider that.

Cant see them going for Darcey though, Strictly is now a bit more about big brand entertainment than it was before Alesha and I dont think Darcey is loud enough.

I think the Beeb will find this a harder decision than people realise.

Wonder what sort of ratings it might get - and how many viewers will tune in believing that he's the new Countdown host.

Predictions on the DSPRG so far range from 1m-1.9m.

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1606923

Really we're thinking, but not typing it in our posts <tut, tut>, what effect the new panel will have on BGT's ratings, though I imagine Alesha won't make any difference either way.


Maybe they should take this opportunity to cut the panel down to 3 judges, like Dancing With The Stars, to help save money.

I doubt, barring England in the World Cup final or the Queen dying, we'll see audience figures of 23.2 million again. BGT's final in 2009 was the closest we've come for a regular programme in recent years and this has been a one off as most shows now are below the 10 million mark. Even the soaps, which could pull in 20 million at times in the eighties, average less than half this.

The trailer for The Royal Bodyguard looks like it will be BAFTA award winning comedy again, Jason getting stuck in a playground swing!

Meanwhile the trailer for The Magicans looks like it will be a completely different show to the one aired last year. Can anyone think of any other examples where a 2nd series is so widely different from the 1st.

The opening and/or closing ceremonies of the Olympics could top 23m. You're right about it being highly unlikely that a TV show could top 23m again, but you never know...

Hardly. Alisha was an in-house promotion frankly - from celeb to judge.

They also have a collosal amount of dancers, who will one day need promoting from the floor.


For the Beeb it'll be pretty much about what are they looking for. Once they know that it'll be rather easy.
I think they should chose a professional myself.

Very likely, but for general programming the days of 23 million viewers watching a film is unlikely. All the Connery Bond premieres in the seventies, barring DAF as it was against very strong BBC1 competition on Christmas Day, attracted well over 20 million.

Downton Abbey officially wins out of Christmas Day programmes in consolidated ratings:

Christmas Day 2011 Officials
1...Downton Abbey - 11.60m (34.4%) [+1: 513k]
2...EastEnders - 11.33m (32.4%)
3...Doctor Who - 10.77m (37.3%)
4...Coronation Street - 10.51m (34.2%) [+1: 308k]
5...Absolutely Fabulous - 9.07m (28.5%)
6...Strictly Come Dancing - 8.50m (27.9%)
7...Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow - 8.09m (31.7%)
8...The Gruffalo's Child - 7.64m (29.7%)
9...Emmerdale - 7.11m (28.5%) [+1: 533k]
10...All Star Family Fortunes - 6.36m (22.0%) [+1: 247k]

Some mighty timeshifts in there, especially Downton's 3.47m !

Some huge timeshifts there!!

+3.5m for Downton!!

Wow!!!

Who would have thought it!

From the overnights: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/...gs-battle.html

1. EastEnders: 9.92m (33.4%) timeshift 1.41m
2. Coronation Street: 9.03m (32.8%) timeshift 1.48m
3. Doctor Who: 8.92m (34.2%) timeshift 1.85m
4. Downton Abbey: 8.13m (29.4%) timeshift 3.47m
5. Strictly Come Dancing: 7.52m (27.3%) timeshift 980k
6. Absolutely Fabulous: 7.43m (27.5%) timeshift 1.64m
7. The Gruffalo's Child - 6.47m (27.7%) timeshift 1.17m
8. Michael McIntyre's Christmas Roadshow: 6.45m (29.2%) timeshift 1.64m
10. Emmerdale - 6.24m (27.2%) timeshift 870k

Massive all round.

Downton wins with +1 (unless EE got a BBC Three repeat??)

Ab Fab timeshift was huge!
Doctor Who putting in a good final result there.


Oh look Strictly is the hole in the BBC Christmas...who'd a thunk it
(replace it Beeb - replace it!)


Downton biggest timeshift ever by about a million.
ITV should have shown it on another night - yes it helped them get a decent Christmas rating, but ffs it could have won them any other day - and had overnights instead of finals in the +11 million range.

Bolt had an overnight rating yesterday of 4.26m (19.6%).