Alesha Dixon believes having BGT forced off the air could ‘work in the favour’ of the finalists

Alesha Dixon has suggested that being forced to freeze the current series of Britain’s Got Talent could be beneficial to the 2020 finalists.

The annual ITV talent show aired its audition round before it was put on hold amid the global COVID-19 health crisis in the spring.

And while the TV judge, 41, is by no means thankful about the pandemic, she has tried to see the bright side to the delay.

‘[The finalists] have had a long time, I hope that they’ve not become too complacent!’ she said in a chat prior to the series recommencing this month. ‘I hope that they’ve used this time to really think about what they want to do and to think about how to maximise the moment.

‘So yeah, this could work in their favour.’

The Mis-Teeq singer mused on this further, adding: ‘I think it’s real interesting because there’s a few acts that have got potential to blow up and have a huge moment on the show.

‘There’s so much more meaning in everything now after all we’ve been through as a country. It’s given it a whole other layer, another level, if they pitch it right, they get the right song, they’re going to tap into the emotion of the nation.

‘And I think we could see some really powerful moments on the show, fingers crossed!’

Alesha admitted she’s ‘been looking forward to getting back to BGT’ but that her and her fellow judges Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell and David Walliams ‘have all been texting each other saying how much we’ve all missed each other and just genuinely can’t wait to work together again’.

She went on: ‘In a way it almost makes it even more special to be doing the show. I remember when BGT went out, at that time we all thought, “Wow, this is what people need. They need a bit of silliness and a bit of fun.”

‘At that time, it was all doom and gloom in the country. When the show came on, it was like, “Oh, this is a nice little treat on a Saturday night.” Now I kind of feel, again, going into the semi-final shows, people need that little pick me up, a bit of joy and some light, you know?’

The finals will not feature a live audience – instead having them react virtually from home.

Alesha said of this: ‘[The judges] will be there being as loud as we possibly can be, and supportive, and encouraging them.

‘Even for me as performer, it’s a very hard one to predict or to call how it’s going to go. I don’t actually know how I would feel if I walked out to perform and there was no one there to perform to, but I guess I would just visualise the audience at home.

‘I would remember that there’s still millions of people watching from home, and I would think about that whilst I’m doing the performance. 

‘The audience feeds off us, we feed off of them. I think years of experience of doing it, obviously our instincts will drive us in how we critique and how we view something.

‘I think we will be very mindful and compassionate to the contestants that they are in a unique situation. That doesn’t mean that they get an easy time and that it means that they don’t have to work as hard.

‘If anything, we’d be like, “No, come on. You’ve got to really show us what you’re made of now because you don’t have the audience who acts as like a fifth judge.” 

‘They don’t have that. They don’t have them on their side. So even more, they got to prove themselves.’ 

The semi-finals, which had been due to be held in May, will now take place over five, nail-biting – and pre-recorded – episodes. The final will then take place live in October.

As usual, Ant and Dec will host, and Ashley Banjo will replace Simon at the judges’ desk, after the head judge broke his back in LA three weeks ago during a bike accident.

Of recruiting Ashley, Simon said: ‘Ashley will be a fantastic addition to the panel. He knows the power of the show; and the responsibility of it.

‘I couldn’t think of a better person to sit in my seat whilst I follow doctor’s orders. I hate that stupid bike!’

Eight contestants will perform in each semi-final and the judges will choose one act to go through. The second finalist will then be chosen via public vote when the episode airs.

With safety concerns paramount, some acts will take part remotely via video link whilst others will perform in the TV studio – with the virtual audiences’ reactions then beamed into the studio on a giant screen.

The series will then culminate with the live final, in October, where one act will triumph as Britain’s Got Talent 2020 Champion and win the life-changing £250,000 prize plus a coveted role on The Royal Variety Performance.