A new digital series will bring visual podcast-style backstage interviews to Britain’s Got Talent’s live semi-finals later this month.
Access All Areas will be hosted by presenter Joe Baggs and feature conversations with contestants filmed behind the scenes during the live shows. The format centres on informal chats and games, offering more personal insight into performers as they prepare for the stage.
The series will be released weekly across the programme’s Instagram and TikTok channels, marking a shift towards vertical video as the primary platform for companion content.
Each episode will be recorded on a branded DFS sofa positioned backstage, forming part of a wider partnership with the retailer.
Joe Baggs said: “I’ve been watching Britain’s Got Talent with my family for as long as I can remember, so it’s a real ‘pinch me’ moment to be joining as the official digital presenter this series.”
The content will extend audience engagement beyond the main broadcast by focusing on storytelling and personality, areas that increasingly overlap with podcast-style formats.
Short-form video interviews have become a growing route for entertainment brands to connect with younger audiences.
Dean Kelly, Senior Brand Partnerships Manager at Fremantle UK, said the collaboration creates “natural, joyful opportunities for storytelling that we know audiences will love.”
The partnership also integrates DFS into the show’s wider production, including on-set branding and cross-channel content.
ITV’s branded entertainment division, BE Studio, worked on developing the series as part of its strategy to combine commercial partnerships with editorial content.
Bhavit Chandrani, Director of BE Studio at ITV, said the project shows how branded storytelling can feel like “a natural fit with the show” while connecting with audiences in new ways.
The Access All Areas series will run alongside the live semi-finals, leading up to the final later this year.
