Simon Cowell has revealed that he will be shaking up the Britain’s Got Talent format, avoiding any more accusations of fixing the show.

In previous years, the talent show mogul has been accused of manipulating the way the competition runs so as to give his favourites the best chance of winning – but now he has said that he will make the running order of live shows “more random”.

According to The Sun, Simon said: “I think we’re going to try to change up the live shows so the running order is more random. There was criticism last year that there was almost a formula, you know, a dance act would go on first, the singer at the end.”

Simon Cowell and David Walliams
Simon Cowell and David Walliams are two of the judges on Britain’s Got Talent (Andrew Milligan/PA)

It’s expected that the selection process will be recorded, too, making the whole process more transparent for fans.

A show insider said: “Simon’s thinking at the moment is that he doesn’t want the judges to know the line-up until right before the show starts.

“And he wants viewers at home to see how the show was organised, whether that’s pulling names out of a hat or something else. He wants to be much more open about it.”

 David Walliams, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell Britain's Got Talent
BGT judges David Walliams, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell (ITV)

Simon might give the impression of always having the last word, but in the past he has said he doesn’t mind a bit of constructive criticism: “Sometimes it can be good. I really do read the stuff and analyse it.

“If they are all saying the same thing then maybe we have to change things.”

Last week, it was reported that Simon’s other show, The X Factor, would also see some big changes this year.

Executive producer Richard Holloway said: “There will be some exciting changes. The name of the show will stay the same but we are looking at format and the judges. There will be some surprises this year. But I can’t go into detail.”