BGT winner Axel Blake hits back at 'fix' claims as Amazon show emerges
Many accused him of being a 'professional comedian'
The 2022 series of Britain's Got Talent ended in style on Sunday night (5th June), as comedian Axel Blake was crowned the winner ahead of ventriloquist Jamie Leahy and singer Tom Ball.
However, just hours before Simon Cowell's Golden Buzzer act won the show, it emerged Axel has his very own Amazon Prime show, with many calling him a 'professional comedian'.
After his victory, one viewer wrote on Twitter: '#BGT What a fix! Axel has had a show already, he's already famous', with another adding: 'He has his own amazon prime show, Axel is already famous and worth millions #fix #bgt'. (sic)
Another added: 'So I’m guessing Axel Blake won #BGT?!? This show is 100% rigged! It should not allow people like Axel to audition as they already have a career and audience outside of BGT! Someone seriously needs to fix the show 😡'. (sic)
Another angry viewer wrote: 'The shows have always showcased talent, however this appears to be a fix… he has his own show already?! Axel Blake was ok but was not the best in tonight’s show.' (sic)
Now, Axel, who won £250,000 and a place on the next Royal Variety Show, has hit back at the claims during an appearance on Lorraine on Monday 6th June.
Speaking about the Amazon Prime show, Axel said: "I put that show on myself.
"I put my money where my mouth is and I achieved that, but it didn’t…. It looks like, 'Oh my gosh, it’s Amazon Prime', but if they saw the back end, it didn’t look like that financially, a lot of stress…
"I had to borrow from other people, to say, 'Listen, I need to do something, I’ve already put the deposit down and stuff…' Then after that, Amazon picked it up. So it wasn’t for Amazon Prime. I didn’t know they were going to pick it up. That was like a year later."
Check out all of the previous Britain's Got Talent winners below:
Paul Potts
Paul Potts won the very first show in 2007 with his hugely impressive singing abilities.
George Sampson
Break dancer George Sampson won the show in 2008 at the age of just 14-years-old.
Diversity
Dance group Diversity won the show in 2009, with Ashley Banjo going on to become a TV presenter.
Spellbound
The 2010 series also saw a dance group win in the form of Spellbound, pictured here performing with singer Katherine Jenkins that year.
Jai McDowall
Singer Jai McDowall won the show in 2011.
Ashleigh and Pudsey
Dog performing act Ashleigh and Pudsey were winners of the 2012 series. However, Pudsey sadly passed away in July 2017.
Attraction
Another dance group won over the public in 2013, as Attraction used shadows and puppets to create beautiful spectacles - pictured here with actor Terry Crews.
Collabro
Singing group Collabro wowed viewers in 2014 with their performances of musical theatre songs.
Jules and Matisse
Britain's Got Talent saw its second dog act winner in 2015 with Jules and Matisse.
Richard Jones
Magician Richard Jones won the hearts of the nation in 2016.
Tokio Myers
Pianist and music producer Tokio Myers won the show in 2017, pictured here with BGT judge Amanda Holden.
Lost Voice Guy
Lost Voice Guy, real name Lee Ridley, won in 2018.
Colin Thackery
Colin Thackery won Britain's Got Talent 2019 with a heartwarming performance of 'Love Changes Everything'.
Jon Courtenay
Comedy singer Jon Courtenay was crowned the winner of the 2020 series! Jon was a favourite from his very first audition, picking up Ant and Dec's Golden Buzzer!
Axel Blake
Simon Cowell's Golden Buzzer act, comedian Axel Blake, was crowned the 2022 winner of Britain's Got Talent, beating the likes of ventriloquist Jamie Leahy and singer Tom Ball.
Viggo Venn
Norwegian comedian Viggo Venn won the 2023 series of Britain's Got Talent with his high vis jacket inspired routine. He said he was happy to have captured 'Simon's heart' as well as the nation's.
Earlier in the series, The Greatest Showman singer Loren Allred and The London Community Gospel Choir were both forced to defend themselves against similar claims.
Finalist Loren said at the time: "Even though I have spent a lot of years in the music industry, people don’t know who I am. Over all these years I’ve been fighting for my chance to be known and to make it.
"The opportunity to sing 'Never Enough' evolved from being a session singer in the choir, and even though the song was a big success, people still think that the actress sang it. I have never gotten the opportunity to tell my story. That’s never happened for me."
"I am an unsigned, independent artist still trying to make a name for myself."
Congratulations to Axel on his victory! 👏
The Britain's Got Talent final is available on the ITV Hub now.
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