Ant McPartlin has revealed he didn't realise Susan Boyle's Britain's Got Talent audition would become one of the biggest TV moments in the world, admitting he didn't initially find it "remarkable".
The presenter, 50, looked back on the now-famous 2009 audition during the latest episode of the Ant & Dec's Hanging Out podcast, where he admitted that, at the time, Susan's performance felt like one of many impressive auditions they had watched that day.
Ant's Initial Reaction
He explained: "I don't really remember it being remarkable, not as remarkable as when I watched it back and you saw the judges reactions and audiences reaction. It was a good audition, but we'd seen a lot of good auditions that day..."
The presenter said the reaction afterwards was "crazy", with the clip exploding online and Susan becoming a global superstar almost overnight.
Global Recognition
Ant recalled how the success of the audition followed him around the world, even during a trip to Dubai that Christmas. He added: "I was in the food court in a mall in Dubai and I just kept getting recognised and it really surprised us".
The moment became even more memorable when one young fan approached him and shouted: "It's you, it's you, Susan Boyle boy. Who wants the nickname to be Susan Boyle boy? Not me!" Ant joked.
Dec's Reflection
Declan Donnelly, 50, reflected on just how unexpected Susan's rise had been, saying the audition was a perfect example of why people should "never judge a book by its cover".
He explained that nobody expected the woman they had met backstage, who had been sitting with her sandwiches in a Tupperware box, to walk out and deliver a performance that would "bring the house down" and "get that kind of reaction".
Dec also pointed out the staggering scale of the reaction, revealing the audition had reached around 20 million YouTube views within days of airing in the UK.
Susan's performance went on to become a defining Britain's Got Talent moment, and Ant admitted he still gets "teary" watching it back sometimes.
