Britain’s Got Talent ‘fix’ scandal - how convenient

If you had never heard of Ronan Parke nor realised it was the final of Britain's Got Talent on Saturday, you will now, after 'unlucky' Simon Cowell was dragged into yet another high-profile intrigue just before the climax of one of his TV shows.

The latest drama involves 'sensational' claims posted on the internet that the fading talent show has been rigged, and that 12-year-old Parke, the bookies' favourite, has been groomed for stardom for two years by Cowell's company Syco, which has allegedly fixed it for him to win.

The claims were made in a tightly-constructed 2,600-word rant by someone claiming to be an executive at Sony Music on the somewhat obscure website JustPaste.it. But the allegations were quickly picked up by users of Twitter and other social networking sites and spread rapidly across the internet.

The author of the piece said that Parke had been styled and prepared for fame by Syco and was given favourable treatment as he advanced to the latter stages of the competition. There were also claims about the way he and his family had been treated.

Those slurs prompted Cowell to take action to defend the credibility of his show, in which members of the public compete for a place on the bill at the Royal Variety Show and a lucrative showbiz contract with Syco.
 
Meanwhile his company, a division of Sony BMG, furiously denied the claims. A 'source' described them as "cruel lies", while Syco issued a statement warning it "will not hesitate to take whatever legal action is appropriate to prevent further publication of these unfounded allegations".

However, after calling in the lawyers and the police, Cowell found the story plastered all over the front pages of the tabloid press.

Of course, the hoo-ha ensures that there will be intense interest in the Britain's Got Talent final on Saturday, in which Parke will take on five other hopefuls. ·