Britain’s Got Talent has become a staple of British culture since it was launched in 2007 by Simon Cowell. Cowell capitalised on the success of singing-only competitions Pop Idol and The X Factor to open up a new brand of entertainment, encompassing a wide range of talents from magic to street dance. It has made household names out of Diversity, Paul Potts and, of course, Susan Boyle, who have thrilled audiences with the standards of their performances over the past 14 iterations.

Britain’s Got Talent has become synonymous with British culture and the 2022 edition will be much anticipated after the show took a break in 2021. Although its impact will have been missed by fans, there were opportunities for Britain’s Got Talent supporters to enjoy the themes of the show due to online games that are widely available.

One of the main genres of game that the franchise has popped up in has been online casinos. The Britain’s Got Talent theme and aesthetics have been used for slingo games online where users can play a slots-bingo hybrid game with a special twist to reflect the favourite elements of the show. The reach of Britain’s Got Talent also expands to traditional board games among other facets of entertainment, highlighting the options available for fans of the show even when it is not on the air.

As a result of its success, the Got Talent brand has spread across the world, using the same format and formula in over 50 countries. Each country adds their own unique style of talent into the equation, making it enticing viewing for those looking to embrace a different culture. To ensure that the show remains in the mainstream, Cowell has tweaked the format with regularity. At the start of the series, the judging panel for Britain’s Got Talent featured only three judges, with Cowell joined by Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan.

Cowell and Holden have been mainstays of the 14 series, but a change came in series five with the addition of a fourth judge after the departure of Morgan. David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre slotted into the roles, but were only part of the show for a season before being replaced by David Walliams and Alesha Dixon. The roster of permanent judges has not changed, although guest judges have been added to the panel to fill absences.

The 2022 iteration of the show will place greater importance on the audience as the fifth judge of the show, deciding the fate of acts over the course of the series. Cowell has never been deterred from making changes to his brands, and he will hope the absence of the show from the 2021 calendar will make fans and acts turn out in record numbers.

The X Factor fizzled out towards the end of its run between 2004 and 2018, and Cowell will be determined to ensure that his other leading brand does not follow in the same footsteps. Ratings have endured a gradual decline in a similar trend over the last nine years, and it will be interesting to see whether the break will have improved the fortunes of the show or proved that its power is on the wane. The 2022 series could be the most important yet.