Britain's Got Talent: Viewers praise show as Ant and Dec interrupt final to launch mental health campaign

Initiative aims to improve mental health of 10m people

Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly have beeb praising after halting the final of Britain's Got Talent to a halt to make a statement about mental health.

The presenters stopped the Saturday night show halfway through, announcing they were going to “pause” proceedings for a moment.

The duo then invited viewers to forget the competing acts and speak with their loved ones, as part of a new mental wellness campaign.

Judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams watched as a short video aired.

The clip showed backstage crew holding up cards that read: “Use our silence to talk to each other.”

Donnelly addressed the audience to share some figures regarding mental health in the UK, saying there had been a 48 per cent rise in anxiety and depression among British children in the last 15 years.

“But something as simple as talking together and listening to each other can build our mental wellness,” Donnelly said.

McPartlin 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 wellbeing to remember to get together with people we care about and talk.”

After a pause Donnelly joked: “The hardest thing was keeping David Walliams quiet for a moment.”

He added: “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.”

The campaign, which is titled "Britain Get Talking" – a riff on the flagship show's acronym – is backed by a host of ITV’s top stars including Dermot O'Leary, Gordon Ramsay, Phillip Schofield, Holly Willoughby and Jonathan Ross.

The backstage crew asked viewers to use the silence as an opportunity "talk to each other" (ITV)

The five-year programme is also backed by mental health charities Mind, YoungMinds and SAMH in Scotland.

Over the next month ITV will air advertisements featuring some of its best-known stars, who will use silence to encourage those at home to talk to one another.

Carolyn McCall, ITV chief, said that she hopes the campaign will help make mental wellness a priority in people’s lives.

"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," McCall said.

Paul Farmer, Mind's chief executive, added: "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."

The initiative has been praised by viewers on social media as a "brilliant idea" to help raise awareness and promote change.

“As someone who has suffered with mental health since I was 9, that really made me smile! Thank you!!” one person wrote on Twitter.

Another added: “This “Britain Get Talking” initiative is a brilliant idea.”

A third person commented: “So impressed with #BGTChampions giving a platform to mental wellbeing in such a high profile show. Visibility matters.”

More information about the campaign can be found at www.itv.com/BritainGetTalking and www.stv.tv/BritainGetTalking.