Popular show axed next weekend in huge television schedule shake-up

Britain’s Got Talent has been axed from the television schedule next Saturday as it clashes with the Eurovision Song Contest.

Regular viewers of the ITV talent contest will have to wait a further 24 hours as the next episode has been rescheduled to Sunday.

The film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will air in BGT’s usual slot on Saturday, and the variety performance competition will be shown on ITV1 and ITVX at 7.40pm the next day.

The Eurovision Song Contest will make its long-awaited return next week, with the UK set to host for the final for the first time since 1997.

Mae Muller is hoping to go one step better than last year’s runner-up Sam Ryder as she represents the United Kingdom in the final on May 13.

She was unveiled as the UK’s entry in March with her own single I Wrote A Song after previously touring with Little Mix and performing on Jimmy Fallon.

The UK was invited to host this year’s Eurovision after last year’s winners Ukraine were unable to present the event due to their ongoing conflict with Russia.

In August 2022, a list narrowed down from 20 UK cities who initially submitted an ‘expression of interest’ was released by the BBC, with applicants across all four regions demonstrating how they would reflect Ukrainian culture, music and communities.

Of the seven cities named in August, six were in England, one in Scotland, with Belfast failing to make the cut for Northern Ireland.

The final list was then narrowed down to Glasgow and Liverpool, and in November, Eurovision bosses confirmed that Liverpool would host the contest.

Both semi-finals and the final will take place at the 11,000-strong Liverpool Arena, with the city itself set to host a slew of special events throughout the event.

Liverpool, which has been a UNESCO City of Music since 2015, is synonymous with The Beatles and has a rich music heritage.

In February, a slew of big names were confirmed as part of the presenting line-up, with longtime commentator Graham Norton at the helm alongside Ukrainian singer and frontwoman of alternative band The HARDKISS, Julia Sanina.

Coming soon! Regular viewers of the ITV talent contest will have to wait a further 24 hours as the next episode has been rescheduled to Sunday (Eurovision host Graham Norton pictured)

Superstar: Mae Muller is set to represent the UK at this year’s Eurovision with her own track I Wrote A Song

They will be joined in the Liverpool Arena by Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham and singer-songwriter Alesha Dixon.

The BBC said Graham will be sharing the commentary box with comedic actress and former Great British Bake Off host Mel Giedroyc, who it is believed will help cover for him while he is on stage presenting.

The BBC will once again present the UK’s coverage of Eurovision, and for the first time in history, both of the semi-finals will be broadcast on BBC One.

The final will also air on the same channel, and will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Icons! Last year, Ukraine were crowned Eurovision champions with Kalush Orchestra, earning the most points through their song Stefania, but the UK is hosting the competition in 2023