‘Britain’s Got Talent’ bosses have banned the show’s virtual audience from boozing on the show.
The ITV talent show’s semi-finals are taking place with a virtual audience due to the coronavirus pandemic, but producers don’t want anyone doing anything untoward on the family series as a result of indulging in a few too many.
A TV insider told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre TV column: "The bosses want to minimise the risk of anyone having too many drinks and doing something naughty on national TV.
"Another rule is that they can only be seen on screen from the waist up."
Last week’s semi-final caused some controversy as Ofcom received more than 1,100 complaints over Diversity’s Black Lives Matter dance.
Ashley Banjo – who is stepping in for Simon Cowell on the show’s judging panel, after he broke his back – led the troupe in the performance, which included him being knelt on by a police officer in reference to the tragic death of George Floyd, who died after a policeman knelt on his neck.
A spokeswoman for the UK’s communications regulator said: "We have received a total of 1,121 complaints in relation to last Saturday’s ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, most of which related to the Diversity dance segment.
"We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate."
Following the routine, Ashley admitted it was "extremely special" for him and Diversity, who triumphed on ‘BGT’ in 2009.
He said: "This performance is extremely special to me and the rest of Diversity. 2020 has been an incredible moment in history for both positive and negative reasons."