A BRITAIN'S Got Talent 'copycat' row has erupted after singing magician Lewis Fuller was accused of 'ripping off' a routine.
The 24-year-old, from Kent, wowed fans with his audition on the ITV show last month, which featured a woman levitating and vanishing.
But high-tech illusionist Jamie Allan, 46, has hit out, claiming Lewis has “ripped off” an act that he performed “a decade before”.
Speaking to The Sun, Jamie, who is well-known in the industry for performing magical illusions with holograms, says there are “similarities” between the two acts.
He says: “I was watching it through and I thought, 'Ok that’s really good'. I thought it was great actually and it was only at the end when the girl rose up and I thought, ‘Oh no he’s not going to do the end of my bit, is he?’
"When that happened I thought, ‘That’s such a unique effect, that’s never been done anywhere else.’ Then when you look back on the rest of it, you can see the similarities."
Jamie, who lives near Fleet, in Hants, but mainly works in the US, adds: "It's just it's frustrating when you see regular people saying, 'This is fantastic. It's so creative. So original.'
"You think, 'Well, I did it 10 years ago'."
'Doesn't know the etiquette'
Jamie claims he has met Lewis, who missed out on a place in the finals of Britain's Got Talent after losing out in the semi finals on Tuesday.
Jamie, whose touring show is called iMagician, says: “I've met him on a couple of occasions. I have nothing against the guy. He seems like a perfectly nice guy. And I think he's new to the art of stage illusion.
"Although he's a great magician and a great singer, he doesn't know the etiquette, which is that you should ask before you use somebody else's routines.
"He tried to create something new and he has brought something to it, but ultimately it's based on my work and people watching would see it the same, and it goes out to a wider viewing audience and that therefore makes it difficult for me to go and present that without people coming to me saying, 'Oh, you got that from the guy on Britain's Got Talent.'
“And I don't want to explain that to the audience."
Ideas themselves cannot be protected by copyright and Jamie says the "law is very, very fuzzy" when it comes to the protection of magic tricks and effects.
He explains: "There’s not many legal routes you can take because it's so interpretive."
Jamie says Lewis knew of his work because the BGT star bought his new book, Everything - albeit after his audition on the show.
The book is aimed at professional magicians and lifts the lid on how he puts on his multi million pound productions at a magic convention in Blackpool.
Jamie says of Lewis: “He asked me if the work on the holograms was in the book so clearly he knew about it.
“And I said, 'yes, it is.' And I'm there to try and pass on what I know to other people. In our industry, if you want to use somebody else's idea, you usually contact them, ask for their permission, and in most cases, pay them something for it."
He adds: “I'm also a really easy going guy and if they had contacted me before, I probably would have given them my blessing to do it."
He says it took him "over a decade" to come up with his act and cost him "in excess of £100,000".
Jamie says he and Tommy Bond, his creative consultant on tours, were “pioneers" of using this technology in this way.
He says: "We started working with the idea of holograms over 20 years ago. But the technology wasn't good enough to put it on stage.
“This immersive performance where you're seeing live action combined with magic. It’s like watching real magic. I’m very clear when I’m performing that this is a special effect. It’s not a magic trick. It’s not designed to fool you."
Industry support
Jamie has had support from magician Marc Spelmann, who reached the semi finals of BGT back in 2018.
After Jamie posted on social media about his routine being “ripped off”, Marc, known as Magician X, commented “Oh no… I was talking with Sean Alexander and we both said ‘Jamie must have consulted on the act, it is his act minus the singing.’
“I'm sorry to see this, it's awful when someone literally copies an act. My @iammagicianx Magician X act was copied at least 8 times in Europe and the US."
A representative for Lewis said: “These claims are false and damaging to Lewis’ career.
“To allude that Lewis’ act is not his own, is completely false. Lewis did not purchase the book ahead of his audition, and therefore it has no significance to Lewis’ BGT act.
“He deserves to have his moment without false accusations being made.”