Britain’s Got Talent: Ofcom complaints exceed 1,000
5 June 2015
From the section Entertainment & Arts
During the tightrope section of the winning act, Matisse was substituted by Chase (above)
Complaints to Ofcom regarding the stunt double dog used in the Britain’s Got Talent final have exceeded 1,000.
Jules O’Dwyer and her dog Matisse won the talent show on Sunday, but it was later revealed that another dog, Chase, performed the tightrope walk section.
A spokesman for Ofcom said it had been contacted by 1,043 disgruntled viewers by Thursday afternoon.
The broadcasting watchdog said the complaints would be assessed before it decided whether to investigate.
ITV said it had separately received 165 complaints about the show.
Both O’Dwyer and judge Simon Cowell have said there was no intention to deceive the audience.
Cowell said “no one set out to fool anybody” and blamed the “confusion” of a live show for the mix up.
Speaking on Thursday, he said: “I think now the dust has settled a bit we can accept that she won.”
Dog trainer Jules O’Dwyer said she had always made it clear she used a team of dogs.
Viewers complained of being “misled” after they voted for Matisse to win. Figures have shown the dog act won by a 2% margin, getting 22.6% of votes compared with 20.4% for magician Jamie Raven.
On Monday O’Dwyer said she was “shocked and surprised” by their reaction, saying she used the …read more
Source:: BBC Entertainment
