contestant Ferdinand Rennie has put the show on blast after claiming he was ‘stitched up’ following his Greatest Showman audition.
Over the weekend, the ITV competition came back with a bang as Simon Cowell was joined by Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and David Walliams on the judging panel after a two-year hiatus, with and back in the wings presenting.
However, Saturday’s episode was met with intense backlash after American singer – who lent her voice to the hit ballad Never Enough in the 2017 musical – was awarded a .
During the series debut, viewers saw Ferdinand, 62, performing the same song to the judges before Loren took to the stage, however, his rendition didn’t wow them in the same way, with Simon saying: ‘You just murdered it.’
According to the contestant, he was completely unaware that Loren’s captivating performance would be shown immediately after his audition in the final TV cut.
‘There was no time for sound check, I was taken straight on stage and so you try to give your best,’ he told .
‘In the end, it was just a rush and I couldn’t even enjoy the moment on the beautiful palladium stage.’
He continued: ‘I understand other people are dealing with the same and sounded much better so I have the feeling everything was stitched up for me – stitched up to make Loren look better.’
Many by Loren’s inclusion on the show and branded it ‘a farce’ and ‘unfair,’ considering the musician has already performed with the likes of Andrea Bocelli and Michael Bublé.
Both Britain’s Got Talent and Loren defended her spot on the show ahead of the episode airing.
‘We are thrilled to back this year and look forward to viewers watching our BGT bumper special on Saturday and Sunday this weekend,’ a BGT spokesperson said.
‘Whilst most people will have heard the infamous Greatest Showman track, Loren is not a household name, and she deserves her spot on the BGT stage.
‘We hope that such articles will not count against somebody who is well-deserving of this opportunity.’
Loren added: ‘Even though I have spent a lot of years in the music industry, people don’t know who I am. Over all these years I’ve been fighting for my chance to be known and to make it.’
Metro.co.uk has reached out to Britain’s Got Talent for comment.
