ITV bosses 'snubbed Britain's Got Talent pilot'

ITV bosses originally rejected a \'Britain\'s Got Talent\' pilot.

Simon Cowell\'s hit talent show has become a staple on the channel since its launch in 2007, but Lorraine Heggessey - who ran production company Talkback Thames when they came up with the premise - admitted the network took some convincing.

Speaking on the \'Media Masters\' podcast, she said: "ITV turned it down and none of us could believe it.

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"Even though Simon Cowell was one of their biggest stars, even he couldn\'t persuade them to take it."

However, ITV - who eventually decided to give the show a chance - struck lucky with \'Take Me Out\' after both BBC Three and Channel 4 rejected the project.

The latter weren\'t convinced by lovable host Paddy McGuinness, who went on to host the Talkback Thames dating show from 2012 to 2019.

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She added: "Channel 4 went, \'Well, we don\'t really see him as the host of an entertainment show.\' "

Furthermore, Lorraine - who previously became the first female Controller of BBC One - has also opened up on the "huge gamble" she took launching \'Strictly Come Dancing\' in 2004.

The celebrity Latin and ballroom competition has become a ratings success for the Beeb, but at the time other bosses weren\'t quite so keen on the idea.

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She explained: "There was quite a lot of opposition and quite a lot of questioning of our decision [from other BBC bosses].

"The idea of putting ballroom dancing live on Saturday nights was not a no-brainer."

\'Strictly\' - which went on to become a global success with various \'Dancing With The Stars\' editions in over 40 countries around the world - launched in 2004 and is still going strong.

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Last year\'s series was won by former soap star Kelvin Fletcher and his pro dance partner Oti Mabuse.