Oh dear. The producers of Britain’s Got Talent have got themselves into some seriously hot water.
It emerged yesterday that The Loveable Rogues had been specifically chosen to audition for the talent show after TV bosses spotted the group on YouTube.
What if this deceit ruins their chances of going on the pull with One Direction?
The Essex boyband wowed at their original audition when they sang their own song Lovesick, and they went on to impress again in the semi-finals on Tuesday evening, where they won a place in the final after getting the most public votes.
Naughty
Sonny, Te and Eddie let slip that they’d been contacted by producers and asked to audition for the show while being interviewed on This Morning. The boys also said they’d never considered auditioning before.
Talking about the show’s producers, Te said: “They were supportive, we told them we wanted to do our own song and we didn't have any issues. I think they knew from the gist of our band and from YouTube, that it'd work.
“They knew who we were and what we're trying to do, and they supported that.”
When asked if they had been approached, Eddie said: “Yeah we did.”
“We never really thought about doing shows like this, but obviously an opportunity came along and it would be silly not to,” Sonny added.
“Simon Cowell is a massive influence in the music industry, and one of the biggest people at what he does. It was fantastic at the audition, we knew from that point forward he knew who we are, so that was a big deal,” Eddie said.
The guys did make a point to say that their first audition was the first time the judges had seen them perform live.
Sonny added: “The audition in front of the judges was the first one that we'd actually done.”
BGT were quick to defend the situation.
A show spokesman said: “To ensure we leave no stone unturned in our search for the best talent, we let people know about auditions in lots of ways - from ads in local papers to fliers distributed at festivals.
“As part of this normal process, we may inform some acts about the auditions. These acts still have to apply and go through the same process as every other act.
“All acts are auditioned on their own merits and the judges then decide who goes through to the live shows.”