Britain’s Got Talent (ITV, Saturday, 8pm)
I usually witter on about three or four different shows in this Weekend TV Preview thing, but honestly, there’s only one thing you need to do come Saturday night and that’s watch Britain’s Got Talent. Delay your night out. Gather your friends. And get ready to tweet the sh*t out of this thing because I have no hesitation in saying it’s the most fun start to a BGT series ever. And this, remember, is the ninth run. It helps that BGT has the most amusing panel of judges, and in David Walliams the flat-out funniest of them all. His bouncing off Simon is still TV Gold, but as you’ll see from this opening episode, his general observations have never been so acute, and in fact his reaction to one mass choir is also supremely sweet and moving.
Then there’s Ant & Dec of course, whose infectious enthusiasm and no-holds-barred giddiness is unbeatable. Ant being terrorised by a small furry dog is one of the TV moments of the year, I guarantee, while their impromptu backing of opening act Narinder on their combs combined with the anarchic scenes that follow, as Simon tries to stop the rest of the judges from putting him through sums up everything that’s great about this show. Other talents shows stick to a rigid formula. This one just goes for it.
And as far as the acts are concerned I can’t give away too much, suffice to say that this brother and sister rollerskating duo called Billy & Emily are astonishing and will elicit huge gasps from anyone who’s watching, and among the other ones to watch are a stunning solo male singer who would be a knockout on any singing talent show, some spectacular dog-based acts, including one who makes all Simon’s dreams come true, and the jaw-dropping finale of an all-woman troupe who have to be seen to be believed. Bottom line: The Mother Of All Talent Shows is back and the rumours are true: it is better than ever.
And don’t forget… There’s a new sports-based comedy panel show hosted in an unlikely but cunning move by Holly Willoughby called Play To The Whistle (ITV, Saturday, 9.20pm) and it’s got actually real current footballer Frank Lampard as one of the team captains.