[Score]

The whole Noodle / Tom Ball thing was really bizarre. I know Noodle the Cat is some sort of TikTok character but I’ve no idea what the point of it all was, and the producers clearly realised it wasn't going to land as well given they did the reveal in the semi final and put the act on first. I half expected him to reveal he wasn’t actually competing. All a bit strange. And a bit awkward for last year’s runner up to return as a contestant on the same night as last year’s winner returns as a guest.

That aside I do think these live shows have been very good so far. Not necessarily because every act has been great because they haven’t, although I’d say the standard overall has been decent. But they’ve really demonstrated the value of live TV this week. The whole show has had a chaotic energy you only get live and whether it’s Ant falling over, Bruno swearing or Simon failing to use a straw, it’s all stuff that only happens on live TV. Perhaps it’s the lack of live primetime TV post-pandemic that makes it stand out more but I do feel like it’s had a lot of energy this year. And like him or not Bruno has definitely contributed to that and I do think demonstrates they should have had the confidence to tweak the panel sooner than they did.