Ofcom rule Britain’s Got Talent final did mislead viewers

In June Simon Cowell has admitted he “felt a bit of an idiot” after learning that Britain’s Got Talent victor Jules O’Dwyer used a stunt double dog during the show’s final.

In the Ofcom report about the investigation, the watchdog ruled: “With the benefit of hindsight, the billing of the act as “Jules O’Dwyer & Matisse” throughout the series might have contributed to the complaints of some viewers that they had been misled”.

Ofcom concluded: “Taking all of these factors into account, we considered that, although the Licensee may not have intended to deceive viewers, the presentation of the act “Jules O’Dwyer & Matisse” not only had the potential to mislead, but was likely to have done so”.

It starred O’Dwyer as a policewoman going after “sausage thief” Matisse and another of her pets, three-legged Skippy.

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-rated final since that year.

The refund will only apply to those who paid to vote for the winning act.

In its defence to the regulator, ITV said that had its representatives been advised about the use of Chase in the tightrope walk on the day, “they would have ensured that the dog was brought on stage, or that his role was at least referred to after the performance, in the interests of complete transparency to viewers”.

A message on the ITV website, regarding the refund, said: “For avoidance of doubt, viewers who voted by a paid route for any other act in the final of BGT 2015 (ie other than the winning act) are not eligible for a refund or to request donation of a refund”.

The 55-year-old music mogul said he felt the team had let Ms O’Dwyer down and begged the public not to blame the “really upset” entertainer, who he insisted will keep the £250,000 prize money. “The moment I found out I literally put my head in my hands”.

“I was disappointed when people said I allegedly hid Chase and I was trying to make it like Chase was Matisse”. But it was mainly people owning up to it.

‘The producers are absolutely gutted.

But the channel explained that they never expected the doggy doubles to be an issue, saying: “Given [the] context of theatrical storytelling, Jules and the producers never considered that the use of Chase in the tightrope walk sequence might in any way be contentious”.

It also pointed out that O’Dwyer’s talent was “her skill in training the animals and weaving these tricks into an entertaining narrative”, and suggested that viewers would not have voted differently if they knew Chase had carried out the tightrope walk.

Jules O’Dwyer and Matisse won the nation’s heart after performing a series of comedy sketches together.

Carrie Rose tweeted: ‘So just found out that Jules and Matisse was fake!! it was a stunt dog who did the tight ropes!!’

And suggesting that viewers were not harmed by not knowing about the switch, the broadcaster added that only two people had been in touch asking for refunds on their votes – and only one of them had actually voted for O’Dwyer.