'Britain's Got Talent' Magician Richard Jones Responds To Claims He STOLE His Latest Trick

‘BGT’ magician Richard Jones has been forced to defend himself, after being accused of stealing his latest trick from a fellow ‘Got Talent’ hopeful.

In Tuesday’s (24 May) ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ live show, Richard sailed through to the final, with a performance which saw him tear out pages from Amanda Holden’s autobiography and then seemingly put them back together, wowing the judging panel and viewers at home.

However, he’s since courted controversy, when it emerged that a near-identical trick was performed on ‘America’s Got Talent’ just two years ago by another magician.

It was previously suggested that his audition performance was also originally performed by the late Paul Daniels.

An insider tells The Sun: “It’s astonishing that ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ has shown an act so similar to another on one of its own shows.

“There has been some rumbling among magicians following the show that Richard has made it through to the final but is still yet to perform an original trick.”

Richard has since spoken out, insisting that “updating” and “evolving” ideas is “what magic is all about”.

He insists: “Magic is all about evolving the ideas that might have been done before with a common object.

“New ideas won’t always be found nowadays so I’m thinking what I can do that’s similar but make it more understanding and more updated. That’s what magic is all about.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for ‘BGT’ has said on the matter: “Simon Cowell was not a judge on ‘AGT’ when the trick was originally performed. The first time he has ever seen it was this week.”

Compare the two tricks below:

Richard isn’t the only one of this year’s performers whose place in the grand finale has sparked a backlash, with viewers crying “fix” when the judges chose to put dance act Boogie Storm through on Tuesday night.

One of the group’s members has since hit back at the suggestion, claiming they earned their slot in the ‘BGT’ final fair and square.