Reports that Alan Carr is set to replace David Walliams on the Britain’s Got Talent panel have sparked a lot of conversation online.
On Tuesday, the Daily Mail reported that Alan was being lined up as a new addition to the BGT judging team when the show returns to our screens later this year.
The former Chatty Man host is already a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, and is close friends with Amanda Holden, with whom he recently appeared in a BBC travel series.
He’s also previously appeared on screen with Alesha Dixon, when she made guest appearances on his talk show Chatty Man and the this series of Drag Race UK.
David’s future on the panel has looked uncertain since last year, after recordings of him making explicit and disparaging remarks about some auditionees on the set of BGT were shared in the media.
In November, a spokesperson for the show claimed whether or not would the former Little Britain comedian would return was “very much up in the air at the moment” and that a decision was yet to be made.
The reports that he’s set to be replaced by Alan on this year’s series – which, at the time of writing, remain unconfirmed – have already generated a lot of chatter on social media, with many saying the stand-up’s presence is enough to make them tune in…
HuffPost UK has contacted representatives for both Alan Carr and Britain’s Got Talent for comment.
Towards the end of last year, David Walliams apologised after a recording of him reportedly making derogatory remarks and sexually explicit comments about participants auditioning for the show at the London Palladium in January 2020 was leaked in the press.
In a transcript, shared with The Guardian, the comedian allegedly branded one elderly hopeful a “c***” three times after they made a jibe about him in an unsuccessful audition.
Of another female contestant, David reportedly remarked: “She’s like the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to fuck them, but you don’t.”
According to the newspaper, he then continued: “It’s the last thing on your mind, but she’s like: ‘Yep, I bet you do!’ ‘No I don’t!’ I had a bit of a boner, but now it’s going, it’s now shrivelled up inside my body.”
After the comments were made public, David issued a statement, saying: “I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020.
“These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry.”
David has been with BGT since 2012, and last month appeared on the panel in a pre-recorded special episode celebrating the show’s past magician contestants.