BLIND Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalists have slammed producers, claiming they were left “completely disabled” on the show.
Opera singer Denise Leigh, 53, said she was made to wear noise-cancelling in-ear monitors which left her struggling to navigate backstage in last year’s contest.
She performed with pianist husband Stefan Andrusyschyn, 41, but without guide dog Tilly because of the ITV show’s fireworks.
Denise said of the monitors: “It was disabling. I said, ‘Can I just wear one? They said, ‘No, you’ll get used to them.’
“But you don’t hear any real sounds and I’m navigating using echolocation and sound shadows. You are at the mercy of whoever is around you.”
The couple did not complain at the time but gave phone feedback days after their exit.
Denise explained: “I thought they might say, ‘You can’t do the show’ if I kicked off. I thought, ‘It’s not that big a deal.’ But in hindsight it was.”
Their You’ll Never Walk Alone rendition won praise — but Stefan said they were later left alone at London’s Eventim Apollo.
He said: “It’s jarring. I’ve had a bellyful of Mr Cowell’s productions.”
A BGT source said: “They weren’t made to wear in-ear monitors but offered the opportunity to wear them.
“They were also given a dedicated researcher in the run-up to the live show.”
A BGT Spokesperson said: “We pride ourselves on putting contestant welfare at the forefront of everything we do.
“The BGT team will advise our acts to wear in ears due to sound levels in the studio and for their count ins, however, at no point were Denise and Stefan made to wear them.
“The show welcomes feedback, and suggestions, for future series”.
[boxout headline=”Britain’s Got Talent’s biggest ‘fix’ rows” featured-image=”27899124″ intro=”Britain’s Got Talent has been plagued with ‘fix’ rows over the years. How many of these do you remember? “]Jasmine Elcock – 2016: Teenage singer Jasmine Elcock stunned the nation with her version of Cher’s Believe. But it then transpired she had already performed professionally in London’s West End. Jasmine, 14, admitted: “I’ve performed in Annie in the West End at about the age of nine or 10, but I really get nervous.”
IrShad Shaikh – 2017: BGT fans were left questioning the rule book when IrShad Shaikh auditioned. He got four red buzzers from the judges, which would usually mean an instant dismissal. Yet in a strange turn of events, they let him continue with his act…and put him through to the next round.
Colin Thackery – 2019: Elderly war veteran Colin won BGT in 2019, but there was an outcry over the final. He warbled his place to win with a version of We’ll Meet Again but fans were furious that escapologist Jonathan Goodwin didn’t even rank in the top three. Viewers felt Jonathan – who almost suffocated while being buried alive in a gravel pit – should have won.
Axel Blake – 2022: Comedian Axel Blake was given a Golden Buzzer in 2022 after making the judges laugh. But fans were fuming when they discovered Axel already had a show on worldwide streaming platform Amazon Prime. Despite this, Axel still went on to win the series.
Taryn Charles – 2024: Singer Taryn Charles is one of this year’s hopefuls lucky enough to receive the Golden Buzzer. Bruno Tonilio put her straight through to the semi-finals following her performance of (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin, but it has now come to light that she is no stranger to TV. Viewers recognised Taryn from an episode of ITV1’s Starstruck, where she impersonated Whitney Houston for judges Olly Murs, Sheridan Smith, Adam Lambert and Beverley Knight.