BGT legend makes final prediction after ITV announces major change to live show

legend Paul Potts has opened up about the latest series of the show after he appeared on the programme nearly 20 years ago. The 53-year-old opera singer from Bristol shot to fame back in 2007 when he wowed judges with his performance of Nessun dorma, famously sung by Italian tenor Pavarotti. He went on to be crowned the very first winner of BGT.

The former Carphone Warehouse manager has enjoyed global success having topped the charts in 13 countries and continues to tour the world. The BGT winner shot to super stardom and has amassed an estimated net worth of £10 million. He has since addressed this year's "mixed bag" of finalists as he made a candid admission about the show's contestants.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk on behalf of he said: "I think the final will be really varied. It has to be, because you can't have six singers out of 10. It just doesn't work.

There has been talk in the past that they should have a singer's round, and I don't agree with that because if you have a singer's round - you get what people don't want. It's all the same thing and people lose interest towards the end."

Paul continued: "I think it'll be a mixed bag and it's all there for the taking. It's down to what people choose to do and how well they're able to perform in the end. Hopefully, there'll be a bit of everything - like comedy. I'm glad I'm not a comedian though.

My wife tells me I'm not a comedian. That [being a comedian] looks so hard because you got three or four minutes to [make people laugh] and because comedy so subjective - it's hard for a comedian. Sometimes I'm funny by accident."

Speaking about this year's finalists he shared: "I'm looking forward to seeing [the acts]. I'll be out of the country for some of them, but I'll be catching up. Having that excitement and fear, a bit of a mixture of both, is what it'll be like for the contestants. You have to have that fear, because otherwise, it's very easy for people to not take you seriously enough. I do think it's wide open [the final]."

His comments come after the ITV show introduced a new rule.

The BGT live shows will start tonight on ITV1, as a number of hopeful contestants will battle it out for a place in the final. For the first time ever, the semi-finals will air every Saturday night over five weekends instead of consecutively over one week.

This means that the final will now take place on Saturday, May 31. ITV have also announced that the Golden Buzzer will be back for the live shows.