David Walliams bags money-spinning new BGT deal
David Walliams has signed a new two-year deal to remain on the judging panel of Britain's Got Talent - after Simon Cowell insisted he remain on the show. The Little Britain star - who was a huge hit with viewers on this year's series - revealed the news on the Jonathan Ross Show, saying he wouldn't dream of splitting up his new screen partnership with Simon. "I've agreed to do two more," he said. "I can't wait. It's going to be a great series. "Watching The X Factor now, I'm quite jealous that I'm not there because it's such a load of fun." David - who joined the panel this year along with fellow newcomer Alesha Dixon - added that he had plenty of new material for the next series in the pipeline, and had already tried some out on Simon at Holly Valance's wedding. "I was taking the mickey out of Simon and he kept saying, 'Save it for the show,'" he admitted, adding that there was "never a dull moment" when the pair of them were together. The full interview will be seen on Saturday's Jonathan Ross Show which is at 10.35pm straight after The X Factor. Preliminary auditions for the 2013 series of the show are set to get underway across the country later this month, with production staff holding tryouts in seven cities across the UK. The first auditions will kick off in Glasgow on October 16, and will also travel to Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, London, Belfast and, for the first time, Sheffield.
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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.
An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.