Comedian Adam Keeler, who was given four yes votes from the judges on Saturday's Britain's Got Talent, has been forced to defend himself after copycat claims from another act.
A Britain’s Got Talent act that impressed all four judges has denied claims he copied his routine from another set of performers.
Comedian Adam Keeler was given four “yes” votes during Saturday night’s series opener with his crowd-pleasing sketch, which saw him hold up giant letters and other props to match a medley of popular songs.
However, following the broadcast, watched by 8.7 million viewers, veteran comedy act Raymond and Mr Timpkins took to Twitter to accuse Adam for “blatantly” copying them, as they are known for a similar routine.
Adam said in a statement that he has never seen their act and that he was inspired by comedian Tim Vine, not the duo.
Adam, who is through to the next round on the ITV talent show, said: “I have never seen the Raymond and Mr Timpkins Revue act so I can honestly say I’ve not copied it.
“Only 40 seconds of my audition was shown and I have other props that weren’t letters or signs. My normal act is around 30 minutes long so unless people have seen both complete acts, I would not know if they are similar.
“When working abroad, I put together a short act for a charity talent night using props as puns and taking the words in music literally. I was inspired by comedian Tim Vine, who also uses props in his comedy.”
https://youtu.be/GShYOy0QVMk
Raymond and Mr Timpkins also claimed the show’s bosses had asked Adam to audition with a similar act to theirs because they had turned down the chance to take part.
A representative for the show has denied their claims.
A Britain’s Got Talent spokesperson said: “Adam auditioned for the show of his own accord so any suggestion we asked him to audition with a similar act is completely unfounded and incorrect.”
The comedy duo, who use highly choreographed routines with props, had first shared their claims on Twitter.
@raymondtimpkins #BGT How clever of you all to put an act on that blatently [sic] copies our set. The press will love this.
Following the broadcast, Britain’s Got Talent judge David Walliams wrote on Twitter, praising Raymond and Mr Timpkins for doing it “first & funnier”.
@davidwalliams If you saw @BGT last night & liked the musical comedy act with the sign reading 'ME' see @raymondtimpkins live who did it first & funnier.
He then shared a link to a YouTube video of the duo from 2011, conducting a similar set to Adam’s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dwRD8LoNtQ&app=desktop
Britain's Got Talent continues next Saturday on ITV1.
