I’ll admit it, I had high expectations for the new series of Britain’s Got Talent,possibly due to its tendency to bring all of the country’s supposedly gifted nutters out of the woodwork. One show down and so far I’m not disappointed. Saturday’s show was a giddying collection of the wacky, the weird, and just occasionally the wonderful.

Maximum boost to our BGT section.

It was fairly obvious it was going to be business as usual when, ten minutes in, security offer Manjit Singh came out on stage, blew up a hot water bottle to bursting point, then pulled a large van along using only his ear. What’s not to love? The acts then came thick and fast, through Greek father-son comedy dance act Stavros Flatley (could they be another Signature, perhaps?) acrobatic act Flippin’ Bonkers and their superhero costumes and can can dancers Cherry On Top – each and every one of them loved by the judges. Surely such high standards couldn’t continue?

Er, no, as it happens. The arrival of James Boyd at the Glasgow auditions and his Ferrero Rocher eating act – in which he attempted to break the world record for the most eaten in one minute – elicited much derision from the judging panel as well as the first use this series of the phrase (“and you think this is what the Royal Family will want to see…..?” 20 minutes in, that was quick!) Other low points included puppeteer Joanne, whose idea of entertainment appeared to be to make her puppet mime to a Mariah Carey song, the unicyclist who might have been good if he had managed to stay in the saddle, and a string of seriously duff dance acts (the man disco dancing on rollerskates and taking a tumble midway through was cringeworthy).

But there was plenty of other talent to watch – can there have been a dry eye in the house for example when shy, awkward Susan Boyle from West Lothian came on stage, had the audience and judges looking a tad cynical with her desire to emulate Elaine Paige, only to then have the last laugh when she turned out to be the best singer of the night (she got a standing ovation and deservedly so).

Electrifying dance troupe Flawless also have to be a good bet for the final, although I can’t say the same for former disco dancing champion Fabia Cerra, who performed a raunchy striptease and wowed the judges with her strategically placed tassels (seriously, she could have someone’s eye out with those). Yes, she did make an impression on the panel (well who wouldn’t with an act like that) but I can’t help feeling it’s one of those novelties that will quickly run out of steam on a show like this.

So just one show down and once again Britain’s Got Talent is already regaining its reputation as the best reality/talent show on the box. Can’t wait to see what next week’s edition throws up.