Britain's Got Talent has faced the wrath of some viewers following its return to screens. The hit ITV talent show returned for its 16th series on Saturday night (April 15) before a second helping of auditions aired on Sunday night in a bumper series premiere weekend.
Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Simon Cowell were back searching for the country's best talents and they were joined by the show's newest judge Bruno Tonioli. The two episodes feature pre-recorded auditions after filming took place earlier in the year in Greater Manchester and London.
The opening episode saw the former Strictly star give a children's dance group from Uganda the series’ first golden buzzer, which sends the act straight through to the competition’s live semi-final. The episode also featured a 13-year-old magician from Ireland, a Japanese comedian, a Darth Vader-dressed keyboardist and a recorder player who used his nose to play his instrument.
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Meanwhile, on Sunday night the contestants, who are again competing for a prize of £250,000 and the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in front of the Royal Family later this year, featured dancer, Nathan.
Nathan, who has a learning disability, wowed the judges alongside his dance partner Joanne while there was a second helping of gold confetti as 13-year-old singer Malakai became the star of the episode after his performance of Requiem got him the second golden buzzer of the series from Simon.
But it has now been revealed that the opening episodes were flooded with complaints from unimpressed viewers. Ofcom has confirmed that it received more than 400 complaints from furious viewers over the last week.
Saturday's night's episode attracted 66 complaints with the broadcast watchdog confirming to the Manchester Evening News that they related to a performance by self-proclaimed ‘fartist’ Ichikawa Koikuchi. Viewers complained that the audition brought the show to a 'new low'.
The act stunned fans of the programme breaking wind to blow out the candles on a birthday cake. He followed this by blowing out a dart with the aim of popping a balloon, as new judge Bruno Tonoili held his head in his hands and rolled his eyes.
Unfortunately for Ichikawa, he continued to miss and after a few failed attempts head judge Simon got up to join him on stage and offer some moral support.
When this did the trick the pair hugged and a delighted Ichikawa was sent through to the next round with three yeses. Alesha Dixon said: "I actually really enjoyed it."
Amanda Holden laughed at the thought of Ichikawa winning the show and him being introduced to King Charles at the Royal Variety Performance, saying: "May we proudly present the winner of Britain's Got Talent." Simon also granted a 'yes', saying: "I genuinely didn't have a clue and then I understood."
But in response, @Schmiffy12 tweeted: "Has to be a new low for @ITV." And @KhakanQureshi complained: "At one time, this type of 'act' would never had got through. How low the depths of BGT has fallen. It really is a load of hot air!" @Dodgy_Doodles also said: "A new low for #bgt." @mindismovinglow grumbled: "And so a new low was reached #BGT #BritainsGotTalent."
Meanwhile, the chunk of the complaints, 334 to be exact, related to a routine which involved a contestant trying to complete a Rubkiks cube whilst on fire. Fans were warned 'do not try this at home' as professional stuntman Thomas Vu solved a Rubik's Cube after being set alight.
Thomas was seen walking around the stage solving the puzzle after being turned into a fireball on stage. He went on to solve the puzzle and the flames were extinguished. But many viewers watching at home were horrified by the act including former Coronation Street and Happy Valley actress Rachel Leskovac who tweeted: "Setting yourself on fire is NOT entertaining." And @Damerella complained: "This fire act must be quite triggering for some viewers."
@laura_alice24 echoed: "That man setting fire to himself SERIOUSLY needed a trigger warning."@adamsmith_87 said: "Something very disturbing about this guy being on fire doing the Rubik’s Cube it’s not entertaining at all and it doesn’t sit right."
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