Judges got talent?

I was brought up on good old variety shows on the tele when I was a lad. They were common in the clubs and theatres around the country, as the walls of the Old Packhorse public house will demonstrate. It stands next to the site of the old Chiswick Empire and lists many of the acts which performed there on a regular basis.

Saturday Night at the London Palladium and The Good Old Days with Leonard Sachs were family favourites as we all gathered round to look at the audience of the latter dressed in period attire, and watch the acts of the day, be they dancers, comedians, jugglers or magicians. A real variety in fact.

As a result I have enjoyed the Britain's Got Talent set of shows in the last few years, but sadly I will not be watching any more, as the judges or the contestants seem to have lost the plot big style.

This year in the first two shows to identify finalists, the public and the judges put through two average pianists and two child singers. The trick cyclist and the magicians were excluded by the judges vote. They followed a weird dad dancing guy, somebody with dancing eye's, except they didn't, and a couple of extras out of The Matrix, I , II and III. A poor substitute for JLS and three dog acts also got too much air time, and then the winner was announced as a Scot with a very powerful voice who Simon Cowell had rejected at boot camp in the X-factor last year.

The prize, apart from £100.,000, is a place at the Royal Variety Performance to sing for the Queen. Good for him, but there is a clue in the name, just where are all the comedians, ventriloquists, magicians and jugglers. A good old fashioned circus act would not go amiss either particularly if it featured a lion tamer or a few seals balancing beach balls on their noses. Arf, Arf.