Arts Editor, Steph Bennett, fails to see the worth in the nation’s favourite talent show. 

Last Saturday marked the return of Britain’s Got Talent, the talent programme that has become so revered that it not only draws applicants from the world over, but has prompted other countries to develop their own version. Despite its undoubted success, it seems a little peculiar that a show that claims to be continuously on the hunt for talent suddenly appears to unearth none. Many crowded around their television screens last Saturday, hoping at the very least to laugh and cringe at the show’s auditions. There was little to draw a smirk, however, apart from the dazzling disappearance of actual entertainment in the face of the now-typical talent shows. There was little to enjoy in the episode, apart from the knowledge it would end imminently.

Singers and choirs, magicians and escape-artists, there was nothing truly exciting on the show. If the acts weren’t pointless they were mundane. There wasn’t anything that truly intrigued or inspired, or was even remotely interesting. If the audience only wanted something to pass the time without consequence or question, then Britain’s Got Talent was the right choice. The only thing that might have led to an emotional reaction was being reminded of Ant McPartlin’s recent motor accident and the news of his longstanding alcohol addiction.

Another year of tedious auditions and monotonous live shows begs the question of whether Britain even has any talent worth filming. Certainly, if there was any, they have already been found and absorbed into the higher echelons of hosting and presenting worthless ‘comedy’ shows on a boring Sunday evening. Has anyone ever heard of the winners a year or two after their win? The dance troupe Diversity are barely remembered, and any other winning act has been lost amidst the constant reoccurrence of poor shows that are now classed as entertainment. The entire concept is now essentially ridiculous. No one really watches shows like Britain’s Got Talent or X-Factor for those contestants that can hold a note or play an instrument or otherwise amuse and entertain. Most of its ratings surely must stem from those who use it as background noise.

All in all, talent shows are talentless. They’re meant to showcase the array of culture and talent around the country and instead prove that any programme classed as Saturday night entertainment is terrible. The only reason the show is still broadcast every year is that it generates a lot of money. The show has the capacity to expand diversity, to increase access and to broaden the minds of its viewers. Instead, it justifies its continuous broadcast under a false guise of ‘entertainment’.   

 

Steph Bennett

Image: ITV