Simon Cowell has offered to take a lie detector test to quash any fix claims after an act on tomorrow Britain’s Got Talent stuns the crowd with his surprise audition. Max Fox wasn’t down to sing for the judges but called out the music mogul directly and begged for the chance to perform for him.
A shocked Cowell said yes – “admiring” his brazen approach. Explaining the impromptu moment, the judge insists he had no idea what was going on. Pre-empting shouts of a fix, Simon, 65, said: “I think I should be wired to a lie detector machine in the future to prove I’m speaking the truth because when something like this happens people instantly shout fix.
“In this case do you really think I could be bothered to plant someone in the audience? No. But that’s exactly what happened.”
It’s the first time an audience member on the ITV show has called out for an audition and been allowed to try their luck. Simon explained how security reacted when they saw Max stand up.
“I knew it was genuine because of the way the security team reacted,” recalled Simon. “He looked like he was going to try and break onto the stage or get to me. They were not twitchy and being hyper vigilant, tracking him. But I heard him say he was desperate to show us what he could do but hadn’t managed to get a place in the auditions this year.
“I went over to the producers and I said, ‘Pinky swear this is not a set up’, because you can’t break a pinky agreement. They said they had no clue about him. So we let him audition and it was an incredible moment. I just know people will say I fixed it, but I really didn’t!”
Untrained singer Max, who began learning his craft in holiday parks and went on to sing across the cabaret circuit in Blackpool, went along to BGT auditions at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens to sit in the crowd with his husband Arturo. Finding himself a couple of rows back from Simon, he decided to seize his moment and ask the boss directly for a chance. Invited up on stage, Max, 35, belted out Frank Sinatra’s My Way.
Simon says the moment is what BGT is all about. “I kind of admired him for taking his shot,” said Simon. “I think we have to go into auditions expecting the unexpected. We can’t have rules because this is the kind of show where anything can happen and we need to be able to adapt quickly.”
It’s been a series of breaking the rules, with a record number of golden buzzers handed out by judges Simon, Amanda Holden, 54, Alesha Dixon, 46, Bruno Tonioli, 69, KSI, 31, and presenters Ant, 49, and Dec, 47.
This week it was announced for the first time in the show’s 18 series history that the iconic buzzer will now appear during the live rounds, giving one judge or Ant & Dec the power to send an act straight through to the grand finale each week and taking them one step closer to securing the £250,000 cash prize and a spot on the bill of the Royal Variety Performance.
Eight acts will compete each Saturday from next weekend (April 26). In addition to the buzzer, the public will then vote for their winning act of the night, who will gain a place in the live final.
Watch Britain’s Got Talent tomorrow night at 7pm on ITV.
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