BBC and ITV both claim talent show victory

THE BBC and ITV both claimed victory in the battle for the Saturday evening audience as their primetime talent shows went head to head.

ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent pulled in a peak audience of 12.2 million – a 49 per cent share of the viewers.

The BBC’s new show, The Voice, peaked at 9.8 million – 2.4 million fewer viewers. But the corporation said The Voice beat BGT when the two shows overlapped for 20 minutes, with its show averaging 8.96 million against ITV’s 6.56 million after 8pm.

ITV said the average viewing figures for BGT were 9.9 million, or a 41 per cent audience share, while The Voice opened with an average audience of 8.4 million.

The BBC claimed this figure was more than three million better than the opening episodes of Strictly Come Dancing, BGT and The X Factor, all of which have become Saturday night favourites.

The corporation admitted many Voice viewers switched across to watch BGT when the singing contest finished, but said the 9.3 million audience average for BGT was down from its 2011 opener.

ITV said the launch of BGT made it the best-rated show of 2012, excluding soap operas.

The scheduling of both shows was controversial in the run-up to last night’s clash, with the BBC accusing its rival of trying to sabotage the launch of The Voice.

Relations were already strained following the loss of Alesha Dixon from the BBC’s Strictly to join the BGT panel, alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and David Walliams.

Cowell had previously admitted: “The Voice was 100 per cent intended to be a competing show to X Factor, so I thought, ‘Great, we’ll nick Alesha’.”

Meanwhile, Reggie Yates, The Voice’s co-host, claimed his show was “more credible” than other talent shows.

Dixon hit back by saying: “The only thing credible is success.”

The Voice sees singers take part in blind auditions, with judges Jessie J, Tom Jones, Danny O’Donoghue and Will.i.am showing their approval for an act by swinging round in their chairs to catch a first glimpse.

On BGT, opera singer Jonathan Antoine, 17, stole the show after overcoming his battle against bullies, accompanied by his 16-year-old friend, Charlotte Jaconelli, singing the Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli hit, The Prayer.

He admitted: “I’ve always had problems with my size. When I was in primary school, I had the mick taken out of me and it kind of damaged my confidence quite a bit.”