Judges poached, behind-the scenes rift and snub by celeb pals – has Simon Cowell’s BGT bubble burst?

SIMON COWELL has been blindsided by his Britain’s Got Talent co-star Alesha Dixon after she secretly landed a huge deal with a rival ITV show. Alesha will co-host series 15 of The Voice UK alongside Stacey Solomon with details of the lucrative deal leaking earlier this week. Simon Cowell’s disgruntled team confirmed they learned of the news that Alesha Dixon landed a job co-hosting The Voice the same way as the public Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Amanda Holden, KSI, Simon Cowell, and Alesha Dixon are said to all be returning for the upcoming series of BGT Credit: Shutterstock Editorial It has already ruffled feathers among the Britain’s Got Talent production team as everyone was kept in the dark about her megabucks move. To make matters worse, Simon’s disgruntled team confirmed to The Sun they had only learned of the news the same way as the public. A source said: “Simon didn’t know, because nobody at BGT knew — producers included. “He’s got the America’s Got Talent live shows starting this week to focus on. “How he’ll react is anyone’s guess, but you’d hope Alesha or ITV will want to be the one to tell him personally, especially since they’re friends.” I’m guessing it’s news Simon won’t like . . . and he won’t love it either. A second insider added: “Showbiz is infamously cut-throat and it’s not personal, but for Alesha not to even bother telling Simon about the deal is a real kick in the teeth. “He’s quite literally made her millions thanks to her time on BGT, a courtesy message wouldn’t have gone amiss.” Alesha not bothering to tell Simon about the deal is a real kick in the teeth, revealed an insider Credit: Getty Alesha will co-host The Voice alongside Stacey Solomon, who was also also welcomed to the BGT family as a guest judge Credit: Getty The move will no doubt sting further for Simon who has welcomed former X Factor contestant Stacey Solomon into the BGT family as a guest judge. The Sun told last month how Love Island host Maya Jama held top secret talks about taking over from The Voice’s long-term host Emma Willis but they fell through. Emma will host the revamped series of Strictly Come Dancing alongside comedian Josh Widdicombe and professional dancer Johannes Radebe. Alesha was so determined to land her co-presenting deal, thought to be worth six figures, that she is fitting her stints on The Voice around rehearsals for the already strained Mis-Teeq reunion. It means she will have to race up and down the country to fulfil all her contracts. Filming for The Voice is due to take place in Manchester for five days from September 11. But the Nineties girl band are playing a one-night-only 25th anniversary gig on Saturday, September 12 at Wembley Arena. Luckily for Alesha, bosses have worked the schedule around her, and neither she nor Stacey are due to film that day. He’s quite literally made her millions thanks to her time on BGT—a courtesy message wouldn’t have gone amiss, said our insider Credit: PA Everyone was kept in the dark about Alesha’s megabucks move Credit: Alamy However, she will have to race from her concert in North London to be at filming in Manchester the following morning. A source said: “After losing Emma to Strictly, then talks falling through with Maya, bosses went out of their way to lock-in Alesha. “Her schedule from September to the end of October is flat out but she’s managed to squeeze everything in. . . just.” The move will no doubt cause even more friction between Alesha and her Mis-Teeq bandmates. The Sun reported in June how the long-awaited comeback was already hanging by a thread after infighting between Su-Elise Nash, Sabrina Washington and Alesha. The group gave their first reunion performance at the Britain’s Got Talent final on May 30. Though off camera, they were plagued with issues. A source said: “It is all getting rather toxic. “Honestly, behind the scenes their first performance was chaotic. Alesha is fitting co-hosting The Voice around rehearsals for the already strained Mis-Teeq reunion Credit: PA The girl band are playing a one-night-only 25th anniversary show on Saturday, September 12 at Wembley Arena Credit: PA After the mess of BGT, they were all really feeling the pressure of their surprise performance at Wembley Stadium for the Summertime Ball.” Filming for this year’s Britain’s Got Talent is due to kick off on October 6 at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens. Sources have confirmed to The Sun that Amanda Holden, KSI, Simon and Alesha will all return for the upcoming series Ant and Dec will host the show once more. A source said: “Simon is going all out to make sure the 20th series of Britain’s Got Talent is a vintage year. “Twenty years is a lifetime in TV. To still be going strong pulling in millions per week in the age of streaming is really quite something. “The show is commissioned until 2028, but Simon sees the 20th anniversary series as a shop window to push for a longer contract. Right now he is mulling over a few huge ideas about how to breathe new life into the show and hit the headlines once more.” Britain’s Got Talent launched in June 2007, ushering in a new era of reality TV. Won by British tenor Paul Potts, the original judging panel consisted of Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, and Piers Morgan. As well as a £100,000 prize pot, the winner also got to take to the stage at the Royal Variety Performance and perform for Her Majesty The Queen. Since then, it has gone on to create a host of household names. Simon is going all out to make sure the 20th series of Britain’s Got Talent is a vintage year, said our source Credit: PA DECADES OFDRAMA AND COVER-UPS BRITAIN’S Got Talent is no stranger to drama. Both the judges and the acts have ruffled feathers over the last two decades since its launch. In 2022, David Walliams abruptly left the show after remarks he made about contestants leaked online. The long-time judge, below, went on to sue BGT’s production company for loss of earnings after his reported £1million contract wasn’t renewed. In 2020, Diversity saw their performance become one of the most complained-about moments in Ofcom history. The former winners’ dance routine included a white police officer kneeling on Ashley Banjo, seemingly recreating the real-life killing of George Floyd in America. Over 25,000 complaints were filed to the watchdog over the performance. On the lighter end of the spectrum, Amanda Holden’s obsession with flashing the flesh has also landed the show in hot water. In 2017, her decision to wear a sheer Julien Macdonald dress spurred 663 uptight viewers to complain. Hitting back, Amanda said at the time: “It’s been called another national crisis, but, oh no, I will not be covered up.” Series two was won by teenage street dancer George Sampson, who went on to perform in London’s West End as well as being cast in the BBC drama series Waterloo Road. Series three saw arguably the biggest BGT star of all time, Susan Boyle compete. Despite the Scottish singer missing out on the crown to dance group Diversity, her audition of Les Misérables classic I Dreamed A Dream was a viral hit on both sides of the Atlantic. She has gone on to sell more than 25million records worldwide and hit No1 in more than 40 countries. Other notable winners include series eight’s theatre vocal group Collabro, series 11’s musician Tokio Myers, and series 17’s Sydnie Christmas. This year’s series was won by The Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir. The group was formed by Jeremy Clarkson, to support farmers with their mental health and perform for an advert for his Hawkstone brewery.