Britain's Got Talent stars hitch a tram ride into Blackpool for auditions launch

Britain's Got Talent's celebrity judges and presenters hopped on board a tram to launch the new series of the show in Blackpool.
The Britain's Got Talent team, from left, Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell, David Walliams, Declan Donnelly, Alesha Dixon and Ant McPartlin, on a Blackpool heritage tramThe Britain's Got Talent team, from left, Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell, David Walliams, Declan Donnelly, Alesha Dixon and Ant McPartlin, on a Blackpool heritage tram
The Britain's Got Talent team, from left, Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell, David Walliams, Declan Donnelly, Alesha Dixon and Ant McPartlin, on a Blackpool heritage tram

Comic and children's author David Walliams shared a picture of his fellow judges Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden on board one of Blackpool's heritage trams as the show returned for its live audition phase.

And presenters Declan Donnelly and Ant McPartlin called in to Madame Tussauds at Central Promenade to check out their wax figure likenesses within the attraction - as well as seeing their own giant images on the building's frontage.

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Fans of the show queued round St John's Square to get access to the filming sessions at the Opera House, this afternoon and this evening, despite the bitter cold and windy weather.

The Britain's Got Talent team, Ant McPartlin, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell, David Walliams and Declan Donnelly during a photo call at the Winter GardensThe Britain's Got Talent team, Ant McPartlin, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell, David Walliams and Declan Donnelly during a photo call at the Winter Gardens
The Britain's Got Talent team, Ant McPartlin, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell, David Walliams and Declan Donnelly during a photo call at the Winter Gardens

The audition sessions at the Winter Gardens mark a return to work for Ant and Dec, following a Christmas break after I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here concluded.

Ant McPartlin this weekend confirmed he had filed for divorce from wife Lisa Armstrong, Strictly Come Dancing's head make-up artist, after 11 years of marriage, with a statement requesting privacy "for both himself, Lisa and their immediate families".

He went into rehab after last year's series of Britain's Got Talent, after admitting an addiction to painkillers and alcohol, stemming from a knee operation in 2015.

* Entertainment reporter Anna Cryer attends the auditions on Wednesday.