Othelio dropped from BGT over murder link

Othelio dropped from BGT over murder link
Othelio dropped from BGT over murder link (Image credit: Ken McKay)

Britain's Got Talent act Othelio have been dropped from the show after producers discovered a link with a double murder. Singing couple Deborah and Craig Stephens will not appear on the ITV show again, a spokesman said. The decision was made after the Sun reported how Mrs Stephens, of Edinburgh, had looked on in terror as former partner Michael Maddison, 42, attacked two men with a baseball bat during a jealous rage in 1992. Maddison was given a life sentence for murdering Allan Cunning, 21, and Darren Hall, 20, after inviting them back for a drink at the flat he shared with Mrs Stephens in Rosyth, Fife. Although Mrs Stephens, 46, played no part in the killings, relatives of the victims complained to the newspaper about her appearance in the series. A Britain's Got Talent spokeswoman said: "I can confirm that Othelio won't be progressing further on the show. "We have a duty of care and felt it was best they didn't continue."

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.