Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan have been slagging off the BBC's Graham Norton fronted talent show, 'When Will I Be Famous', mainly because it got to air before the UK version of Cowell's 'America's Got Talent' show, on which Morgan takes the role as 'the bitchy judge', and which will launch as 'Britain's Got Talent' on ITV. In fact, it officially launched yesterday.
ITV Director Of Comedy & Entertainment Paul Jackson accused the BBC of rushing Norton's talent show to TV screens early as a "spoiler" for the much anticipated launch of the new ITV talent show, adding that it "showed" that the show had been cobbled together at short notice. Morgan said of the BBC rival: "It was crap. Just a cheap little spoiler", while Cowell added: "I watched [Norton's] BBC1 show and if I'd thought it was a good show I wouldn't have made ours. I saw that show. The problem is, if you just say 'here's 12 singers you will like' [it doesn't work]. The audience need to care about contestants in reality talent shows, and go on an emotional journey with them, for such formats to be successful".
Of course it's all wrong for the Beeb to copy one of Cowell's telly projects and then set up a rival. That's what Cowell's meant to do to them.