Britain’s Got Talent returns in April after two-year hiatus

Britain’s Got Talent is returning to TV screens in April after almost two years.

The talent show, featuring judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams, returns after the ITV series was cancelled in 2021 due to the pandemic.

Filming of the 15th series had been scheduled to begin early last year, however, production was delayed before being postponed until 2022.

The show typically airs from around April until July, with the semi-final and final stages broadcast live.

Difficulties in filming amid the pandemic were compounded because acts travel from all over the UK and sometimes abroad to take part in the show.

The last series saw 2009 winners Diversity perform a Black Lives Matter-inspired routine in which a man in a police uniform knelt on Ashley Banjo, echoing the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd.

The routine, which sparked more than 24,000 complaints to Ofcom, won the must-see moment at the 2021 TV Bafta Awards, which is voted for by the public.

Cowell, who created the show, was replaced by Banjo on the judging panel for the final and semi-finals of the last series as he was recovering from a back injury.