Record bets taken as rival TV talent shows reach their climax
And ITV's 'Britain's Got Talent' is the punters' favouriteBy Ian Griggs
Bookies took £100,000 in bets in the week leading up to last night's final of Britain's Got Talent, while betting on rival show I'd Do Anything slumped to just £13,000.
William Hill took £88,000 in bets yesterday for ITV's show. "It's the biggest day of reality television betting we have ever had," a spokesman said.
In Britain's Got Talent an electric string quartet and a street dance team made it through to the final, with nearly 11 million viewers tuning in each night last week to watch the contestants whittled down to the final few.
Escala, from London, won the public vote with a dramatic rendition of the James Bond theme Live and Let Die while five-piece hip-hop dance crew Nemesis, from Milton Keynes, won the judges' backing with their nifty footwork.
The girls, all in their 20s and dressed in slinky black ballgowns, reportedly had to change their name from Scala after complaints from another group with the same name.
"I think you're incredibly original. You're very beautiful and I think bookmakers across the country will be ripping up the odds because you girls have just become the red-hot favourites," Piers Morgan, a judge in the event, told Escala ahead of the final.
Fellow judge Simon Cowell told Escala that it was important to have an act which the judges would be proud to represent all over the world.
"You girls one million per cent represent that," he added.
Other competitors in this year's event include 12-year-old opera singer Faryl Smith from Northamptonshire, extreme martial arts duo Strike and a performing dog called Gin. Win or lose, the show's George Sampson, a street dancer from Manchester, is virtually assured of a glittering showbiz future after receiving more than 100 job offers as a result of his appearances.
"The reaction has been amazing. The support means everything to me, and although I'm nervous I'm going to go in there and give it my best shot," the 14-year-old said ahead of the final.
But Faryl Smith was looking like the bookies' favourite last night with odds of 4/6 following her performance in her semi-final.
"You do not have to be a genius to see how good Faryl is. We are confident that we have seen the winner," said Rupert Adams, a spokesman for William Hill.
Saturday night's Britain's Got Talent on ITV went head to head with rival amateur talent show I'd Do Anything on BBC1 in a battle of the ratings.
The BBC programme saw the three remaining Nancys – Jessie, Jodie and Samantha – singing for a place in the country's hearts and a place in a West End show.
Graham Norton and Andrew Lloyd Webber, assisted by John Barrowman from Torchwood, Denise Van Outen and Barry Humphries, were set finally to pick which of the three will appear in a forthcoming production of Oliver! by Cameron Mackintosh.
The ITV hopefuls, meanwhile, were performing for the chance to win £100,000 in prize money.
Independent
