BGT took on a whole new meaning on Saturday night (5th October) as ITV sprung a surprise by pausing Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions during its finale to launch its new mental wellness campaign, Britain Get Talking.

As the show built towards its climax, hosts Ant and Dec turned to viewers to unveil the initiative, which is supported by mental health charities Mind and YoungMinds (and SAMH in Scotland).

Britain Get Talking is the first stage of a five year commitment from ITV to promote mental wellness with the goal of getting 10 million people to take action to improve their mental or physical health by 2023.

Suddenly calling a halt to proceedings, Ant and Dec addressed the audience, inviting viewers at home to turn their attention away from the acts competing for the BGT crown to focus instead on one another and let mental wellness take centre stage.

Their message, at the core of the Britain Get Talking campaign, was the importance of taking steps to help maintain mental wellness, with making time away from distractions for regular conversation with friends and family recommended as a simple but effective measure.

Judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams then fell silent along with the audience as Ant and Dec brought Britain’s Got Talent to a silent stop for one minute while cameras broadcast shots of backstage crew holding up cards bearing slogans that read: “Use our silence to talk to each other.”

Highlighting the pressing need for a focus on mental wellness, particularly for young people, Dec said:

“In the last 15 years there has been a staggering 48 per cent rise in anxiety and depression among British children [see Notes To Editors]. But something as simple as talking together and listening to each other can build our mental wellness.”

Ant added:

“We all know that these days there are more distractions than ever, because we are looking at the telly or we’re looking at our phones. But, it’s so important for our mental well-being to remember to get together with people we care about and talk.”

Following the pause, Dec joked:

“The hardest thing was keeping [BGT judge] David Walliams quiet for a moment.
Seriously though, just taking time to talk with your nearest and dearest can really make a difference, especially for young people, so please make sure tonight is just the start.”

Continuing the theme, the commercial break that followed featured the launch of ITV’s new advertising campaign, followed by a special silent advertisement featuring a series of brands - Oral-B, Gillette, SEAT, Dunelm, Network Rail - which also promoted the Britain Get Talking message, encouraging viewers at home to turn their focus to each other.

ITV’s Campaign for Mental Wellness has drawn inspiration from the Five Ways to Wellbeing devised by the New Economics Foundation with an emphasis on promoting behaviour change through small, regular actions that positively support mental health.

Under the theme 'Connect', one of the Five Ways to Wellbeing, the initiative’s first year will set out to improve resilience in young people by encouraging positive conversations and strong, supportive relationships, an effective way of building mental health.

A YouGov survey of parents, commissioned by ITV [see Notes To Editors], found that although over half of parents of teens are worried about their mental health, two in five parents of teens don’t have a meaningful chat - talking and really listening to the answers - with their children every day. One in three parents of teenagers doesn’t get one on one time with their child each day. Britain Get Talking aims to make the space to prompt more of those conversations.

As part of ITV’s commitment to promoting this message, an on air campaign has now begun, which, over the next month, will see ads featuring familiar ITV faces using their silence to encourage viewers to catch up with one another at home and tune back in to their family’s story.

The stars lending their support to the campaign are drawn from across ITV’s shows, from Soaps and Daytime to Entertainment, Factual, Sport and News. They include: Dermot O’Leary, Coronation Street’s Alexandra Mardell, Rugby World Cup pundit and former England international Maggie Alphonsi MBE, Gordon Ramsay, Gino D’Acampo and Fred Sirieix, Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, Jonathan Ross, Julie Etchingham, Tom Bradby, Robert Peston, Mark Pougatch, Iain Stirling, Alex Beresford, Emmerdale’s Mark Charnock and Emma Atkins, Charlene White, Lucy Verasamy and Loose Women’s Nadia Sawalha, Saira Khan and Kaye Adams, Alison King, Myleene Klass and Amanda Holden.

In support of the campaign, a Britain Get Talking website is now live online - http://www.itv.com/BritainGetTalking and http://www.stv.tv/BritainGetTalking.

Viewers will be signposted there for further information on the campaign and useful resources.

ITV worked with creative agency Uncommon Creative Studio to develop the campaign.

Carolyn McCall, ITV Chief Executive, said:

“ITV brings people together for unmissable shared viewing moments. By disrupting one of our biggest shows this Saturday night, we want to reach a wide family audience and create the space to start a national conversation about mental wellness.

"At the heart of ITV’s social purpose strategy is this new five year commitment to help make mental wellness a priority in all our lives. We've worked with our long-term strategic partner, Mind, as well as Young Minds to develop Britain Get Talking. The campaign highlights the importance of talking and listening in building mental wellness, ensuring we make looking after our mental health as much of a part of our daily lives and culture as our physical health."

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, the mental health charity, said:

“We are really pleased to be supporting ITV’s campaign and to have the opportunity to help reach millions of people with messages about looking after your wellbeing. We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health, and we can learn to look after it.

"At a time when only a third of people with a mental health problem get access to any kind of help and support, it’s important to do whatever we can to help people take steps to stay well and try and prevent mental health problems developing in the first place. Encouraging families to focus on the wellbeing of the next generation is a fantastic place to start.”

Emma Thomas, Chief Executive of YoungMinds, said:

“For young people, building good relationships with their families and friends can be really positive for their mental health and wellbeing. Strong relationships mean young people can share their feelings and worries more openly, with confidence that they will be listened to and understood.

“When young people are struggling with their mental health, it can be particularly challenging to talk openly about what they’re going through. That’s why we’re very pleased that, through Britain Get Talking, ITV are encouraging parents and carers to have regular conversations with their children about how they’re feeling from a young age. The expert advisers from our Parents Helpline have provided practical advice for the campaign website, which we know will make a big difference.”

[please use credit]

Britain Get Talking supported by YoungMinds and Mind is part of ITV’s Campaign for Mental Wellness. For more information see http://itv.com/BritainGetTalking

Notes to editors

Statistical references
https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/new-figures-show-a-rise-in-young-peoples-mental-health-problems-since-2004

www.itv.com/BritainGetTalking
www.mind.org.uk
www.youngminds.org.uk
www.samh.org.uk
www.uncommon.london

The ITV commissioned YouGov survey questioned 3061 parents on a range of issues relating to how they interact with their children and mental wellness. The survey was conducted in late September 2019

About Mind

We’re Mind, the mental health charity. We provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. We campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. We won't give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets both support and respect http://www.mind.org.uk

Please note that Mind is not an acronym and should be set in title case.

Mind has a confidential information and support line, Mind Infoline, available on 0300 123 3393 (lines open 9am - 6pm, Monday – Friday).

For urgent out of hours media support, call 07850 788 514.

Press Contact:
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