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AIBU?

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Original poster

BGT Dog swap

69 replies

Sallystyle · 01/06/2015 22:15

Show faces potential Ofcom probe after viewers complain that winner Matisse was replaced with a stunt double during ITV show’s finale

Britain’s Got Talent producers have apologised for not making it clearer that the winning act – a dog called Matisse – was substituted for a lookalike in the high-wire stunt that helped the animal and its owner win the talent competition

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/jun/01/britains-got-talent-producers-sorry-for-switched-dogs-in-final

Are people being unreasonable to complain that she/they unfairly won the competition?

OP posts:

littlejohnnydory · 02/06/2015 09:03

Unpopular opinion here in Wales but Cor Glanaethwy got nowhere near as many votes as the top two acts. The dog was still a dog that she had trained. And the judges who were sitting very close didn't see the magician's sleight of hand (what did people think, that he really had magic powers?!). Pity that Cor Glanaethwy fans are such sore losers!

Klayden · 02/06/2015 09:08

I don't think the majority of people realise how much work and dedication is involved in training dogs. It's not just about intelligent dogs, it takes an incredible amount of hard work and determination on the part of the trainer. I have a 7 year old poodle (apparently known for being very intelligent dogs) and he still won't bloody roll over properly. He lies on his side and looks pathetically at me. I adore him, of course, but it makes me respect people like Jules a helluva lot more.

chippednailvarnish · 02/06/2015 09:10

One day the nation will look back and think 'what the fuck were we doing with our spare time watching this bollocks'

I'm already of that ilk, hence I turned it off...

PiggyPlumPie · 02/06/2015 09:12

It's not so much that a stunt double was used, all three dogs should have been seen at the end of the act. Transparency and all that!

SoupDragon · 02/06/2015 09:16

Why pretend that it was the same dog?
Why include a trick that the "star" dog is scared to do?

SoupDragon · 02/06/2015 09:18

And if it doesn't matter, why the pretence?

hedgehogsdontbite · 02/06/2015 09:34

At the risk of being flamed, I don't think it's that amazing to train a collie. I've had collies all my life and as soon as they know what they need to do for a bit of hobnob, they'll do it on command every time.

Terriers on the other are defiant little bastards. Training them to act on command would impress me. In my experience they're just as intelligent as collies and understand the instructions, they just don't give a fuck.

WhatHappensNextNow · 02/06/2015 09:41

I would love to see the magicians close up showing how he did the trick!

BolshierAyraStark · 02/06/2015 09:57

I don't watch BGT & am finding it quite amazing that people give this much of a shit about it tbh...

HappyMeerkat · 02/06/2015 10:24

its not a big thing to get annoyed about but in this situation i think if its titled a certain dog then it should include just that dog, for example most people are talking about the dog itself rather than the trainer, whilst the trainer put in all the hard work. the main attraction was the dog itself which is why it was included and not just another person.

small details and i dont really care but it does kind of matter

Summerisle1 · 02/06/2015 10:30

Terriers on the other are defiant little bastards. Training them to act on command would impress me.

Me too. If she'd trained Jack Russells then I might have been prepared to watch BGT in the first place.

Agree with others who have suggested that, to avoid this brouhaha it might have been better if she'd titled the act differently to include all the dogs that performed though.

Phantomteadrinker · 02/06/2015 10:34

I'm slightly p'd off as dh had money on the magician (he always has a flutter on bgt) and we would have won £250 if people would have voted differently! That bloody dog is rather unpopular in my house

iHAVEtogetoutofhere · 02/06/2015 10:45

I don't watch it as I don't think it's 'family viewing'.
I don't want my 7 year old watching the female judges looking like that.
Or all the leering over scantily dressed acts

I also dislike someone gaining fame and money out of making dogs walk on wires. Yak. Didn't we move on from animal circuses yet?

And of course none of it is 'genuine' or transparent.

fortyfide · 02/06/2015 11:08

The "winner" could solve her problems by giving a tenth of her massive winnings to a genuine dog charity. (thats 25 grand)

fortyfide · 02/06/2015 11:12

re catsize. Do thers think there was any cruelty to the dogs involved. After all, for loads of money people would exploit the pets they "love"

hedgehogsdontbite · 02/06/2015 11:16

I've just remembered, there was a trained terrier on BGT this year. This is what 5 years of training can achieve:

fortyfide · 02/06/2015 11:28

I forgot to say the organisers of BGT must have fallen asleep for the switch to work

Chunkymonkey79 · 02/06/2015 11:58

I really don't see the issue.

The woman stayed the same, the act stayed the same, she trained both dogs.

Just because it wasn't the MAIN dog some viewers get all uppity. Such people need to get a grip

jeee · 02/06/2015 12:01

Lucky the wonder dog did this act years ago, in Mr Galliano's circus.

Klayden · 02/06/2015 13:39

People take it very seriously when it's obviously scripted and the 'talent' is scouted. Contestants come on with sob stories and pretend they sing into their hairbrush when often, they are trained and have showcased for many years. It's all bollocks. I do like dogs though.

KurriKurri · 02/06/2015 13:44

The tightrope walking didn't win it, the 3 legged dog did. If she'd come on with a 3 legged dog and no act, she'd still have won. It should be renamed 'Britain loves a 3 legged Dog'

I thought the magician was crap, not robbed at all. I found looking at a dog much more entertaining. And I don't want to hear any one singing 'Hallelujah' even if it is in Welsh.

CrapBag · 02/06/2015 13:52

"we would have won £250 if people would have voted differently!"

From the moment the voting opened until it closed, I tried to give my 5 votes to the magician. It would take bloody let me! Kept saying there was an error. I can't be the only one this happened to. Apparently there was only 2% between the top 2 acts. Not saying it was a fix though, I tried it on a couple of other acts and it still said the same.

I think there is something a little bit underhanded by not bringing the other dog out tbh. I don't see why she wouldn't have been upfront about it. It makes me think we were 'tricked' into thinking it was Matisse, not a double.

Owllady · 02/06/2015 14:04

She trained all the dog®…

I'm seriously confused and concerned about how challenged Joe public is

And no way is it that easy to train a collie to do all that stuff, it's really hard work. They are as paranoid as hell, hence why one of hers is scared of heights!

TedAndLola · 02/06/2015 14:09

Surprised at all the support here for the magician. He should never have got through the semi-final once his trick was exposed.

Owllady · 02/06/2015 14:10

It's because he loved his wife

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