Simon Cowell is reportedly in talks with ITV over the possibility of postponing this year's Britain's Got Talent due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Most live productions have now been either cancelled or altered significantly in the wake of the disease's spread, with The Voice semi-finals and final being postponed until later in the year and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway moving to a pre-recorded format for its finale.
Last week ITV said that Got Talent's new series would be starting as planned - all of the audition shows have already been filmed - but according to The Sun, there are now talks about postponing the whole run until later in the year.
Cowell previously confirmed that The X Factor will not air this year, leaving a natural hole in the autumn and winter schedule which Got Talent could now fill.
"Simon has made it very clear that the BGT audience, production team and contestants' safety is paramount," a source told the newspaper.
"Obviously, the channel and show production team are in complete agreement. Everyone will continue to monitor the situation and government advice, but ultimately Simon and everyone involved in the show will do the most responsible thing - which could mean pushing back the live shows."
Fronted by Ant & Dec, Got Talent has been a staple part of the ITV schedules since 2007 and draws an average of around nine million viewers for the network.
Neil Wilkes
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