Britain’s Got Talent has been plunged into a fix row already as one hopeful from Saturday’s series premiere was revealed to have tried his luck on the franchise before.
Ichikawa Koikuchi, 42, whose routine saw him blow out candles and a set off a party horn with his own farts, auditioned for the Asian version of the show in 2019, as well as the French one in 2022.
Despite his cringe-worthy performance, the Japan-native was given three yeses from the judges and sent through to the next round.
Coincidentally, he was also sent through the initial stage on Asia and France’s Got Talent, but didn’t make it very far after that.
While new judge Bruno Tonioli described the act as ‘torture’, the other three panellists saw the funny side.
Uh-oh: Britain’s Got Talent has been plunged into a fix row already as one hopeful from Saturday’s series premiere was revealed to have tried his luck on the franchise before
Done it before: Ichikawa Koikuchi, 42, whose routine saw him blow out candles and a set off a party horn with his own farts, auditioned for the Asian version of the show in 2019
Again?! He also appeared on the French one in 2022
Head judge Simon Cowell even joined Ichikawa on stage for the final trick while Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden burst into laughter.
Another wacky auditionee left viewers disgusted as the talent show returned on Saturday night.
Mikko Rautiainen took to the stage in a bright pink suit, telling the judging panel he had high hopes of having his own show in Las Vegas.
However, things took a unique turn when he took a recorder and stuck it up his nose to play a number of tunes, prompting many viewers to take to Twitter to expressed their revulsion.
One person declared: ‘Urgh he’s putting the recorder up his nose that’s disgusting.’
While another person wrote: ‘Putting the recorder up your nose how disgusting!!!’
Another astounded viewer tweeted: ‘Shoved the recorder up his nose for crying out loud.’
‘Okay yeah i’ve seen it all now, playing the recorder with his nose. Aha nah i can’t cope,’ remarked someone else.
Why? Despite his cringe-worthy performance, the Japan-native was given three yeses from the judges and sent through to the next round
Disgusted: Despite his cringe-worthy performance, the Japan-native was given three yeses from the judges and sent through to the next round
Disbelief: Head judge Simon Cowell even joined Ichikawa on stage for the final trick while Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden burst into laughter
One other person posted: ‘How is playing the recorder through your nose a talent?! #BGT.’
Someone else posted: ‘Don’t really think sticking a Recorder up your nose, is talent #BGT #BGT2023.’
While someone else shared: ‘A Finnish man with a beautiful pink jacket playing a recorder that’s shoved up his nose whilst saying he can play a trumpet with his other hole is peak saturday night telly #BGT.’
It comes after head judge Simon revealed he ‘wasn’t involved’ in David Walliams’ decision to leave the Britain’s Got Talent judging panel.
Breaking his silence on the comedian’s exit, the TV mogul admitted he’d ‘never condone’ his sexual remarks towards other contestants, for which he apologised before stepping down from the show.
Simon added that despite being an executive producer and judge on the show, talks surrounding David’s exit involved other producers who were more ‘hands-on’,
Speaking to The Sun, he said: ‘I didn’t really get involved in the decision. From what I understand, he decided to take a step back.
‘We did say to the two producers, ”You have to make the final decision”because, yeah, I am an exec producer, but they’re more hands on.’
Simon added that for much of his time on BGT, David was ‘very respectful and emotional’ about other contestants.
But he continued: ‘We had a conversation. But you know, he owned what he said, he wasn’t proud of what he said. This is not something that I would ever condone.’
David decided to leave Britain’s Got Talent after he was forced to apologise for describing an elderly contestant as a ‘c***’ and making vile sexual remarks about a woman taking part.
The comments, made in January 2020 during auditions at the London Palladium, were picked up on the programme’s microphones and revealed in December 2022.
During the audition, an older performer engaged in banter with the judges in which he made a jibe about Walliams. After the audition, the pensioner left, at which point Walliams is said to have called him a ‘c***’ three times.
Another instance occurred after a female contestant auditioning on the same show had walked off stage.
David remarked: ‘She’s like the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f*** them, but you don’t… It’s the last thing on your mind, but she’s like, ‘Yep, I bet you do!’ ‘
A source told The Sun: ‘He hasn’t taken the decision lightly, but it just feels like time to move on.
‘David has decided to bow out after a ten-year run. He wants to leave on a high after a wonderful time.
‘His team have quietly been having conversations over the past few days where it has been made clear that David is readying himself to step down – and then producers will start to think about who might replace him.’
‘No I don’t! I had a bit of a b***r, but now it’s going, it’s now shrivelled up inside my body.’
Sources close to BGT had said that David’s return was ‘very much under threat’ and he was ‘under the microscope’, with some senior staff saying that he should be immediately axed.
In a statement to The Guardian, the Little Britain star said: ‘I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020.
‘These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry.’
A spokesman for ITV said: ‘We do not condone the language outlined in these allegations and we have spoken to the producers of Britain’s Got Talent.
‘Duty of care towards all participants on any of our programmes is always of paramount importance and we have protocols and guidelines in place for all our production partners.’
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