Britain's Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician saw three noticeable absences tonight.
Judge Simon Cowell was missing as well as hosts Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly. The pair have been at the helm of the ITV talent show for several years, whilst Simon usually sits alongside Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and David Walliams on the panel.
However, as the special airs tonight, fans will see Simon replaced by magician Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller for a very special edition of the ITV show, where some of the programme's best past magicians return.
Ant and Dec were unable to film the special after testing positive for Covid, which also saw them miss picking up another Best Presenter gong at the National Television Awards back in November.
"It was quite bizarre standing on the other side. I'd done Britain's Got More Talent for 14 years, but doing the whole thing you would always associate with Ant and Dec, it was a weird experience, like a dream come true!" Stephen said of standing in for Ant and Dec.
"Yes I was [nervous], only because on BGMT, I'd always watch from the side of the stage. We'd do the spin-off show and react to what's happened and even doing the chats with the judges was a real bonus because thankfully I knew them."
Simon Cowell was also missing from the usual judging line-up, with magician Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller standing in his place.
Asked how he felt about replacing Simon, who was busy filming in the United States at the time, he said: "Yes. About time! Should I undo the front of my shirt a little more? Maybe bring the trousers up a bit! I’ve met him before but not before this particular show. He handed the magic over to me, handed the reins over to me."
David shared of Simon's absence: " Yeah, Simon was in Los Angeles doing America's Got Talent: The Champions, and so couldn't do it. But Penn is one of the most successful magicians of all time, as part of Penn and Teller.
"And, again, incredibly knowledgeable. So that was very interesting. He just knows the business, he knew some of the performers too, that was interesting, so he was great, actually. He really knew what he was doing. He's always part of a double act but he did it without Teller, who has not been well. So Penn just embraced it and we got on really well with him."
She added: "I found him fascinating. We talked to him between the breaks in filming. I'm a big fan of his, and he knows everybody, and has been at the top of his game for 40 years. So he’s an interesting guy."
