After Pammie’s panto stint, ‘The Hoff’ came to the Empire as one of the new judges for the Britain’s Got Talent auditions, which were held in Liverpool for the first time.
People were lining the streets outside St George’s Hall from early in the morning with the hope of grabbing a seat inside the Empire to see performances from a variety of amateur acts aiming to go big, following the preliminary auditions at the Echo Arena before Christmas.
The star-studded panel was one of the major draws for the crowd, as Hasselhoff, who is a judge in the American version of the show, joined fellow new recruit, stand-up comedian Michael McIntyre, and Amanda Holden. They had their fingers poised over the dreaded buzzers, in place of more familiar judges such as Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan.
The crowd screamed loudly in response to Hasselhoff’s question: “Does Liverpool have talent?”, as the American actor donned a garish Union Jack blazer for the occasion.
Pregnant judge Holden said it was about time the show visited Liverpool: “I can’t believe we’ve not been here before. I’ve got links to Liverpool and I know so many talented people here.” She later tweeted: “Had a fantastic day in Liverpool. So much talent and great audiences.”
Geordie hosts Ant and Dec made a surprise appearance on the roof of the Empire as the show was filmed for transmission later this year, with the Liverpool auditions held over the course of Friday and Saturday before the judges headed to the next round in Cardiff.