BGT winner 'shocked and surprised' by reaction to dog double
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Version 0 of 1. Britain’s Got Talent champion Jules O’Dwyer has said she is “shocked and surprised” by the public’s reaction to her revelation that she used a stunt double dog for her winning sketch. The guide dog trainer, who beat Welsh choir Cor Glanaethwy and magician Jamie Raven to the £250,000 prize with a sketch involving a tightrope and stolen sausages, told ITV’s Lorraine show that another border collie – Chase – walked the parallel ropes in their act, because Matisse is not keen on heights. Annoyed fans expressed their irritation on Twitter, saying that another dog had performed the trick which won them the show. More than 200 viewers had complained to Ofcom by Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, a statement from the show’s producers suggested the judges were also not aware that a second dog had been used for the trick. O’Dwyer said: “I was surprised, I was shocked because I’m thinking ‘Why?’. I spent so much time creating this lovely story – I wanted to make it exciting for the people watching. I wanted that ‘wow’ nail-biting element (where they’re at) the edge of their seat, I wanted people to laugh so I wanted the comedy and the humour and then I wanted that ‘awww’. “I was disappointed when people said I allegedly hid Chase and I was trying to make it like Chase was Matisse. That’s not so.” She continued: “I introduced Chase in the semi-final, and I said Chase is Matisse’s best mate. Chase does the trick very well, Matisse prefers it lower but he’s never been at that height. I have a choice: I have a dog that can do it at that height, or I have a dog I’d have to push in three days to achieve this. “Why put the pressure on the dog, when I already have another dog who can perform it on television?” The sketch, which starred O’Dwyer as a policewoman going after “sausage thief” Matisse, also featured another of her pets, three-legged Skippy. O’Dwyer added: “I know my dogs, and I know what they are comfortable with. I’m not hiding anything. Skippy was a secret – I wanted to keep him a secret because that was the emotional factor and we hadn’t introduced him before.” The dog trainer, originally from Blackpool but who now lives in Belgium, had earlier said on ITV show Lorraine: “Matisse is a little bit afraid of heights so, although he could physically do it, Chase is the dog who says ‘I’m the action dog’. He plays the double for him.” There was no sign of Chase, who had previously appeared in the semi-final, O’Dwyer and Matisse took the stage to be congratulated on their win by the judges and hosts Ant and Dec. Their prize includes a spot at this year’s Royal Variety Performance. A peak of more than 13 million viewers watched O’Dwyer and Matisse become the second dog act to win Britain’s Got Talent, following Ashleigh Butler and Pudsey in 2012, in the highest rating-final since that year. ITV has released voting figures that showed O’Dwyer and Matisse won by just 2% – getting 22.6% of votes, compared with 20.4% for magician Raven. Outraged viewers claimed to be “misled” over Matisse on the tightrope stunt. Rachel Louise wrote: “How can BGT allow a stunt double for the dog and try to hide it, shouldn’t be allowed to be the winner!” Niamh Skinner said: “I’ve just been informed that Matisse had a stunt double doing the tightrope walk. Absolutely fuming. I voted for that dog!” Andrea Foreman wrote: “I think they should step down and give it to the magic man.” But others described the furore as a storm in a teacup. Mike Ward wrote: “So she trained more than one dog to be brilliant? Seriously, what’s the problem?!” A spokesman for the producers of Britain’s Got Talent said: “The audience had previously seen from Jules’s semi-final routine that she works with a second dog Chase alongside Matisse. For the final performance, as Jules has said publicly herself, Chase completed the tight-rope walking section of the act. “During the competition viewers have seen that Jules’s act involves a team of dogs, including Chase and Skippy, alongside starring dog Matisse, to perform her unique mixture of dog agility and storytelling. We are sorry if this was not made clearer to the judges and viewers at home during their final performance.” |