A SINGER is suing Britain’s Got Talent for more than £85million compensation after trekking nearly 200 miles only to be told his audition was scrapped.
Robert Aslanyan, a singer and keyboard player, made the long journey from Manchester to Cardiff with his family, pals and three technical assistants to pursue his dream.
He had long dreamt of winning a chance to perform his royal tribute song “Our Mother Queen” live on Britain’s Got Talent and scooping the £250,000 cash jackpot.
In addition to carefully crafting his tune, Mr Aslanyan also contacted the Queen’s office to inform her about his act and to “ask for her blessings”.
And he received a latter of appreciation from Balmoral Castle in August 2020.
But Mr Aslanyan says he was left dejected and disappointed when, on his arrival at the Sophia Garden Hall audition centre in December 2020, security guards informed him that all auditions had been cancelled due to Covid.
Mr Aslanyan says no member of the BGT staff contacted him to warn that the event was being scrapped before he set out on the 186-mile road trip.
He and his entourage had set out “fully dressed and equipped with keyboard and all necessary tools” and Mr Aslanyan says he suffered “financial loss” as a result of his wasted trip.
The bulk of his huge damages bid is based on his claim he also lost out on a lucrative musical and marketing contract due to BGT’s cancellation of his audition.
He also claims that their subsequent failure to give a definite decision about a fresh audition has cost him potential earnings of around £85million.
Robert says he signed a contract under which a company named as LTOE Trade Ltd agreed to market his work as a musical project titled “Britannia, Britannia”.
But he says the deal floundered due to his inability to launch his song on BGT 15.
The contract between Robert and LTOE stipulated that he would perform his song “Our Mother Queen” in front of the BGT judges and audience, while at the same time covering the entire stage with a mural daubed in the words “Britannia, Britannia”.
And although LTOE later offered him another chance to “prove his ability” at the BGT 16 show in 2022, this new potential deal ended up being scrapped due to the outbreak of the Ukraine/Russia war, he says.
Mr Aslanyan is now suing Fremantle Media Ltd – the makers of BGT – for £85,252,341 compensation.
This includes the loss of his contract, the loss of a chance to win the BGT grand prize, the cost of his trip to Cardiff and a £66 Tesco food bill for his entourage on the day of the trip.
His compensation claim also takes in “basic damages for moral pain and suffering, hurt feelings and loss of confidence”.
Robert claims the BGT 15 team breached its terms of contact, and left him hanging by failing to reach any final decision about whether he was entitled to carry on with his application after the December 2020 cancellation and get a proper audition.
Despite him twice contacting senior staff for an update on his application in early 2021 – and to decide on videos he had sent in – Mr Aslanyan says he received no response.
“It was the defendant’s duty to send a notice to the claimant that in-person auditions were cancelled in Cardiff due to some reasons,” he says.
“Moreover, it was the defendant’s duty to inform Mr Aslanyan in addition with the new date, time and place of in-person auditions, if such were available and were conducted.
“If not, then it was the defendant’s duty to maintain his video submissions, process them, review them fairly and to come up with objective and justified decision.
“That would allow the claimant to continue his participation in the programme and audition in front of BGT Judges, and to get their decision yes or no.”
‘MORAL PAIN & SUFFERING’
However the programme maker’s barrister Mark Wilden, in the defence to the action, denies that the company owes Mr Aslanyan a penny in compensation.
He says: “A substantial number of competitors enter each series of BGT. This number is typically in the region of 10,000 competitors per series.
“Only a small proportion of competitors proceed at each stage of auditions.
“To the best of the defendant’s knowledge, the claimant applied to compete in at least the last four series of BGT under six separate applications. The claimant was invited to attend at least five open in-person auditions and attended three.
“For each of the claimant’s applications, the respective BGT producers acted within the terms applicable to the relevant BGT series at all times.
“The decision of whether each competitor proceeds to judges’ auditions is made solely by one or more BGT producers appointed by the defendant and is made entirely at their unfettered discretion.
“The claimant seeks to imply obligations into a contract between the parties which do not and never did form part of any such contract.
“The defendant never owed the alleged obligations and accordingly there could have been no breach.
“The facts as pleaded do not demonstrate breach by the defendant of any such duty, or of any lawfully enforceable duty.
“The entire claim is liable to be struck out…because it discloses no reasonable grounds for bringing the claim.”
The dispute has yet to reach court – with no date fixed for a trial.
