BGT axes mobile app voting service

Britain's Got Talent has axed voting through its new mobile app - and apologised to viewers for pulling the service.

The show launched the new voting method at the weekend for the first live heat of the series but "congestion" led to problems.

App voting was suspended during the last two shows and now bosses have decided "not to proceed" with the method because of fears it could happen again.

A message on the show's website said any votes which were successfully cast were counted and included in the overall numbers.

Show hosts Ant and Dec flagged up the problems during Sunday's show.

ITV said: "There was a massive demand to vote during the first live semi-final via the new Britain's Got Talent app which caused congestion on the technology platform, managed by Mobile Interactive Group (MIG), a Velti company.

"We informed viewers during the programme that there were issues and advised that those wanting to vote should do so using the other options available - landlines and mobiles.

"All votes cast and paid for using the app were counted and the end result of the public vote was unaffected. Given that MIG cannot guarantee that there won't be further congestion problems for the remainder of the week, we have decided not to proceed with app voting although viewers will still be able to register phone and mobile votes.

"We apologise to any users who have outstanding votes on their mobile app and will be offering a full refund for any unused votes."