{"id":326569,"date":"2026-03-03T11:37:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T11:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/326569\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T11:37:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T11:37:08","slug":"itv-britains-got-talent-dealt-crushing-blow-as-new-series-sees-huge-decline-in-ratings-and-prompts-axe-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/326569\/","title":{"rendered":"ITV Britain’s Got Talent dealt crushing blow as new series sees huge decline in ratings and prompts ‘axe’ fears"},"content":{"rendered":"

Britain’s Got Talent has suffered its worst ever viewing figures, with the ITV talent competition’s audience continuing to shrink dramatically.<\/p>\n

Saturday evening’s second episode of the current series attracted approximately 2.9 million viewers, representing a decline of 100,000 from the previous week’s premiere.<\/p>\n

That opening instalment had already set an unwanted record as the programme’s least-watched launch in its history, managing to draw just 3 million people.<\/p>\n

The figures mark a stark contrast to the show’s heyday, when audiences of around 10 million regularly tuned in during its early years on air.<\/p>\n

\"Britain's<\/p>\n

Britain’s Got Talent has suffered a huge ratings blow<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

After nearly two decades of broadcasting, the talent competition now finds itself struggling to maintain its once-dominant position in the Saturday night television landscape.<\/p>\n

The programme’s struggles were further highlighted by its failure to top the ratings on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

BBC One’s Michael McIntyre’s Big Show proved the more popular choice among viewers, securing an audience of 3.5 million.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Gladiators matched Britain’s Got Talent’s figures with 3 million people watching.<\/p>\n

\"Britain's<\/p>\n

Britain’s Got Talent returned for a new series recently<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

The decline has prompted serious questions about whether the show can survive beyond its current run.<\/p>\n

Having first appeared on screens almost twenty years ago, the programme once commanded enormous audiences and dominated weekend viewing.<\/p>\n

Those days now appear firmly in the past, with the competition facing an uncertain future as it continues to haemorrhage viewers.<\/p>\n

ITV has been approached for comment regarding the programme’s prospects.<\/p>\n

\"Simon<\/p>\n

Simon Cowell has fronted Britain’s Got Talent for almost two decades<\/p>\n

| PA<\/p>\n

Betting firms have already begun taking wagers on the show’s potential demise.<\/p>\n

Ladbrokes is currently offering odds of just 2\/1 that Britain’s Got Talent will be axed once the present series concludes.<\/p>\n

Nicola McGeady, a spokesperson for the bookmaker, suggested the programme’s glory days are behind it.<\/p>\n

“Gone are the days when Britain’s Got Talent was raking in mammoth viewing figures,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"Britain'sBritain’s Got Talent judges 2026 with presenters Ant and Dec | GETTY<\/p>\n

“As the numbers fall, so do the odds and we are now questioning the show’s future.”<\/p>\n

The betting market’s assessment reflects broader industry concerns about whether the format can recover from its current slump.<\/p>\n

With audiences having dwindled from peak figures of 10 million to barely 3 million, the show’s commercial viability appears increasingly precarious.<\/p>\n

Despite the concerning viewership numbers, Saturday’s broadcast still delivered memorable television moments.<\/p>\n

KSI provided one of the episode’s highlights when he leapt onto the judges’ desk to award his Golden Buzzer to Rafferty Coope, a 16-year-old performer who describes himself as a musical magician.<\/p>\n

The teenager’s act combined card tricks with piano playing, culminating in a rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’ that left the panel visibly stunned.<\/p>\n

Amanda Holden declared: “We have never ever seen anything like that!”<\/p>\n

Fellow judge Alesha Dixon praised the young performer as being “full of light” before KSI dramatically interrupted proceedings.<\/p>\n

Golden confetti showered the stage as Rafferty celebrated his direct passage to the live finals, with viewers reportedly moved to tears by the emotional scenes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Britain’s Got Talent has suffered its worst ever viewing figures, with the ITV talent competition’s audience continuing to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[62294,921,93,61,60,8642,282],"class_list":["post-326569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-britains-got-talent","tag-celebrity","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-itv","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}