Britain's Got Talent

Britain's Got Talent (often abbreviated to BGT) is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global Got Talent franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially known as Ant & Dec), it is produced by both Thames (formerly Talkback Thames) and Syco Entertainment, distributed by Fremantle, and broadcast on ITV every year in late Spring to early Summer. The show was originally intended for production in 2005, but filming was suspended in the wake of a dispute between ITV and the programme's originally planned host. Following the success of America's Got Talent that year, production resumed and the programme eventually premiered on 9 June 2007.

Britain's Got Talent
Genre	Talent show
Created by	Simon Cowell
Directed by	Jonathan Bullen
Presented by	Anthony McPartlin Declan Donnelly
Judges	Simon Cowell Amanda Holden Piers Morgan David Hasselhoff Michael McIntyre Alesha Dixon David Walliams
Voices of	Peter Dickson
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	14
No. of episodes	185 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Nigel Hall Lee McNicholas Amelia Brown Richard Holloway
Producers	Matt Banks Charlie Irwin Paul Jones
Production locations	Auditions: Various Live shows: Fountain Studios (2007–2016) Elstree Studios (2017)[1] Hammersmith Apollo (2018–present)[2]
Running time	60–155 minutes
Production companies	Syco Entertainment Talkback Thames (2007–2011) Thames (2012–present)
Distributor	Fremantle
Release
Original network	ITV
Picture format	SDTV: 576i (2007–2010) HDTV: 1080i (2011–present)
Original release	9 June 2007 – present
Chronology
Related shows	Britain's Got More Talent Britain's Got Talent: The Champions Got Talent (franchise) Britain's Got Talent Christmas Spectacular
External links
Official website

Every year, contestants of any age can audition for the televised contest with whatever talent they wish to demonstrate. Auditionees seek to impress a panel of judges – at present, consisting of Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and David Walliams – in order to secure a place in the live rounds of the contest. Once in the live rounds, participants seek to impress the public and judges to secure votes, in order to reach the final and a chance to win a cash prize and a place within that year's performances for the Royal Variety Performance before members of the British Royal Family. As of 2020, the show has had fourteen winners, ranging from musicians and singers to variety acts, magicians and dancers.

On average, Britain's Got Talent draws viewing figures of 9.9 million viewers per series – the show's live final in the third series attracted a record 17.3 million viewers, obtaining a 64.6% audience share at the time of its broadcast.[3] Each series of the main programme is accompanied by a sister show, Britain's Got More Talent, presented by Stephen Mulhern; until June 2019, the programme was aired on ITV2, but has since been moved to online platforms. A spin-off titled Britain's Got Talent: The Champions, featuring the same judges and hosts, was later produced and broadcast in 2019, following the success of the American edition's spin-off America's Got Talent: The Champions.[4] The programme is contracted to run until at least 2024.[5]

History

Ant & Dec have hosted the show together since it began in 2007, with the exception of the live shows in 2018.

Simon Cowell, creator of Britain's Got Talent and the Got Talent franchise, has been a judge on the British version since it began in 2007.

The show's format was devised by X Factor creator and Sony Music executive, Simon Cowell, who was involved in the creation of other Got Talent programmes across several different countries. To showcase his idea, a pilot episode was filmed in September 2005, with the judging panel consisting of Cowell, Fern Britton (at the time, presenter of This Morning), as well as tabloid journalist Piers Morgan.[6] The pilot was not broadcast on television until it was shown as part of a documentary series titled The Talent Show Story in January 2012.[6]

The original plan for the show was for it to be aired within 2005–2006, before the broadcast of America's Got Talent, with Paul O'Grady presenting the programme under the title Paul O'Grady's Got Talent, after having hosted the pilot.[7] However, complications arose when O'Grady was involved in a row with ITV and refused to appear on another of the broadcaster's programme, eventually defecting to Channel 4 to continue hosting his teatime show and effectively putting plans for the show on hold.[8] In a 2010 interview, O'Grady commented about the row by stating:[9]

"I did the pilot for Britain's Got Talent – which was originally going to be called Paul O'Grady's Got Talent. But I told the producers they were having a joke if they thought I would front a show with that title. The original panel of judges was going to be Simon Cowell, Fern Britton and Piers Morgan. I was the host. Then when I had the row with ITV I was banned from the studios. I remember I rang Simon and told him he had a huge hit on his hands, but there was no way I could do it. I said, if I am banned I have to be banned from everything. I can't be a hypocrite and come in and do this. I had to bow out."

On 12 February 2007, following the success of America's Got Talent the previous year, ITV announced their intentions for a British series of Got Talent. Their announcement revealed changes to the original plan for the programme, with Ant & Dec revealed to be the hosts for the new programme. While Cowell remained as part of the judging panel, the new plan intended for David Hasselhoff and Cheryl Cole. However, both resigned before the programme was due to air, leading to Morgan being part of the panel as originally planned, and actress Amanda Holden joining him and Cowell as a judge; Hasselhoff would later join the panel for the programme's fifth series after being a part of the panel for America's Got Talent, while Cowell later employed Cole to be a replacement for Sharon Osbourne on The X Factor. At the same time, the broadcaster also announced that the show would be accompanied by a sister show on ITV2, titled Britain's Got More Talent, with Stephen Mulhern as its presenter.

Format

Auditions

Each year's competition begins with two rounds of auditions. The first round, referred to as "open auditions", are held across several different cities around the UK during the Autumn months, within small venues that are attended by the producers. The second round, referred to as the "Judges' Auditions", are held the following year during January and February, within a select set of cities – these have commonly included Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London – and take place within a theatre or convention hall, whose venue is chosen primarily for having the necessary facilities for handling large volumes of contestants – in particular the venue is arranged into three zones consisting of a waiting area for participants, the wings where they enter and leave, and the main stage area that they perform on. The second round's name is due to the fact that these auditions are attended to by the judges, alongside an audience who secure tickets to attend these sessions.

Each participant that seeks to enter that year's competition must first submit an application to the programme, containing information about who is performing – whether a single person, a pair or trio of performers, or a small or large group – personal details regarding age, hometown, and background, what experience they have for their talent, and the nature of the act that will be performed. Eligibility for the contest is determined by what information is submitted for researchers to double-check – such information is required, per the programme's terms and conditions. Once an application is approved, the participant conducts a performance during an open audition close to where they reside (or can reach), whereupon if successful, they will be allocated a place in the second round, and at a venue that they can reach without issue. Once they arrive at the venue they are assigned to, the participant is then given a number, and remains within the venue's designated waiting area until called into the wings to prepare to perform. Once brought onto the main stage, they begin by engaging with the judges, asking a few small questions – subjects can include their name, background, and nature of their performance – whereupon they are given three minutes to conduct their performance; a backing track for their act is allowed if required.

A performance ends when either the time is up, or all the judges use their buzzers – each judge has one that they can use to signal their dislike of the performance if they believe it to be unconvincing, boring, or completely unacceptable for the contest, though a buzzer can be retracted if the judge felt they used it mistakenly, such as if the participant's performance did something unexpected that changed their opinion of them. Once a performance is over, each judge will give an overview of what they thought about the act, before casting a vote. If the contestant(s) receives a majority vote of "Yes", they then proceed onto the next stage in the contest, otherwise they are eliminated at that point from the competition. Beginning with the eighth series, judges can also grant an automatic place in the live rounds through the use of the "Golden Buzzer" situated on their panel's desk – a feature first introduced on Germany's Got Talent, which can be used by any of the judges for a participant whose audition was exceptional in their opinion, regardless of the views of the others,[10] although it may only be used once by each judge, and cannot be used again for any other participants yet to audition in that year's competition; the hosts of Britain's Got Talent may also press the Golden Buzzer for a participant, but must also adhere to the same rule.[11][12]

Filming for each series begins during the Judges' Auditions, and always consists of recording taken from each venue of auditions and backstage scenes within the wings and waiting area. Footage taken by production staff is then edited into a series of episodes consisting of montages of scenes from multiple venues, consisting of the most notable auditions – the best, worst, and funniest made – along with interviews with some of the notable participants that auditioned, and recorded backstage scenes of the hosts overseeing the performances from the wings.

Judges' decisions

This stage takes place after the auditions have been completed, and is also referred to as Deliberation Day, in which the judges look through the acts that have successfully made it to this stage, and begin whittling them down to those who would stand a fair chance in the live semi-finals. The amount that goes through has varied over the show's history, though usually consists of a number that can be divided equally over the semi-finals being held in a series. Once the judges have decided on who will go through, all contestants that have reached this stage are called back to discover if they will progress into the live semi-finals or not. After this has been done, the acts are divided up between the semi-finals that the series will have; usually eight in each series, except for the sixth to tenth series which had nine acts per semi-final.

For the fifth series, some acts were asked to perform again, as the judges had had difficulty coming to a final decision on the semi-finalist, and thus needed to see their performance again in order to make up their minds; it is the only time in the show's history that this has happened, and has not been repeated since.[13]

Semi-finals and Final

Contestants who make it into the semi-finals by passing both stages of auditions (or receiving a Golden Buzzer, as of series 8), are divided into groups for each round, where they must perform before the audience and judges, as well as on live television. As with the audition stage, each semi-finalist must conduct a performance before the judges – a new routine of their act – with the judges' role being to watch what is conducted and give feedback towards the end of the performance; buzzers may still be used by each judge, and the performance can be ultimately terminated if all buzzers are used. Because all semi-finalists are performing live, they are given time to prepare in advance with rehearsals, while production staff can provide assistance to those in preparing their performance – in the case of those conducting routines that incorporate a level of risk, production staff will ensure precautions are in place, including paramedics, and sometimes set up off-site venues for performances to use either live or for a pre-recorded film for the episode's live broadcast.

Each semi-final can only have two participants advance into the final, and these are determined by two votes. The first is public phone-in vote – via a special phone-number, in which the last two digits correspond to each semi-finalist – that takes place once all semi-finalists have performed and during a break in the semi-final to allow for votes to be made. Once the vote period is ended and the results counted and fully verified, the semi-finalist with the highest total of votes is announced as the winner of the semi-final and secures their place in the final. The second vote involves the judges and takes place after the result, in which they vote between the two semi-finalists placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in the public vote, with the participant receiving the majority vote securing their place in the finals; in the case of a tied vote, as of series 5, the semi-finalist placed 2nd in the public vote advances into the final. In addition to these votes, semi-finalists can also secure a place in the finals if chosen as a "Wildcard" – introduced in the sixth series, the format allows the judges to choose any eliminated semi-finalist to be appointed as their Wildcard in the finals, through a private vote conducted once the semi-finals are completed; the result of this vote is announced prior to the final's broadcast. The format was later expanded to allow for a Wildcard to be chosen by the public from any eliminated semi-finalist they liked within in the ninth and tenth series respectively, though this format was dropped before the eleventh series.

The finals operate in a similar manner to the semi-finals, though all participants in this stage compete primarily to win votes from the public with a new routine; the judges can still buzz and give opinions on the performance they view, but have little impact on the public's voting intention. Once the public vote has been completed, once all finalists have performed, and the votes verified and counted, the hosts announce who is placed as the top two acts of the vote, before revealing the winner who received the most votes from the public. Finalists who win receive a cash prize, and a place in the Royal Variety Performance later that year.

For the show's scheduling, the live episodes are usually arranged to take place over the course of a week – semi-finals for each weekday, and the live final aired on the Sunday of the weekend. With the exception of the first two series, the broadcast schedule of live rounds is conducted over two episodes for each – the first focuses on performances, and includes montage clips regarding each participant's background; while the second focuses on the results of the public vote, and, for the semi-finals, the vote by judges, and often include a guest performance taking place prior to the announcement of the results. Until the tenth series, live episodes were broadcast from The Fountain Studios in Wembley, the same site used for The X Factor, but following its closure in 2016,[14] the show relocated its live episodes to Elstree Studios in 2017, before moving to Hammersmith Apollo the following year.

Judges

Holden is the longest-serving judge on the show, only being absent in a few episodes in 2012 due to health reasons.

Hasselhoff previously worked as a judge on America's Got Talent, before joining the show for the 2011 series.

For the first four series after the show began in June 2007, the judging panel consisted of music executive and television producer Simon Cowell, television personality and actress Amanda Holden, and newspaper editor and journalist Piers Morgan. In 2009, the producers made plans to alter the show's format to allow for a fourth judge when the third series was set to begin, with plans for Kelly Brook to be the new judge on the panel.[15] Less than a week after the series began, the producers dropped this change on the belief that this alteration to the show's format would complicate it, resulting in Brooks being credited as a guest judge for that series.[16][17][18] In 2010, Cowell fell ill during filming of the fourth series and was unable to attend the Birmingham auditions, leading to Louis Walsh stepping in as a guest judge in his place, until he had recovered.[19]

In 2011, the panel saw its first major change, when Morgan revealed he was leaving the show to travel to America and begin filming of his new show.[20] As Cowell had announced he wouldn't be present for the fifth series' auditions, due to his busy schedule with launching The X Factor USA,[20] the show's producers decided to amend the panel, and recruited comedian Michael McIntyre, and actor, singer and former America's Got Talent judge David Hasselhoff, to join Holden during the auditions,[21][22] with Walsh returning as a guest judge for the London auditions due to Hasselhoff's commitments with a pantomime at that time. When the series entered its live episodes, Cowell returned to oversee the acts as a fourth judge. Later that year, in October 2011, both Hasselhoff and McIntyre declined to return for the sixth series, while Cowell announced he was returning full-time to the show.[23]

On 2 January 2012, the producers revealed its decision to adopt the use of a fourth judge for the programme's format, announcing that both Cowell and Holden would now be joined by David Walliams and Alesha Dixon for the sixth series, with the latter moving to the talent show after deciding to leave BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.[24] During filming in February, Holden was unable to attend the London auditions, due to having given birth to her daughter at that time which had led to her suffering some after-effects from her pregnancy. As a result, the producers brought in actress and model Carmen Electra as a guest judge until she recovered. In subsequent series, the line-up remained as Cowell, Holden, Walliams and Dixon, with no further incidents except for the eighth series in 2014 – Cowell missed the first day of the Manchester auditions, leading to Ant & Dec filling in for him; he was also absent for the final day of the London auditions. In the tenth series in 2016, Cowell was late for an audition, and was temporarily replaced by Walliams' mother Kathleen, who was in attendance that day. In August 2020, Cowell was forced to be absent from the Series 14 live rounds and the Christmas Spectacular, following an accident that left him recovering from a back injury, and was replaced in these episodes by Ashley Banjo.[25]

Series	Main Judge				Guest Judge ^1
	1	2	3	4
1	Simon Cowell ^2 ^4	Amanda Holden	Piers Morgan	N/A	N/A
2
3					Kelly Brook ^3
4					Louis Walsh
5			Michael McIntyre	David Hasselhoff
6			Alesha Dixon	David Walliams	Carmen Electra
7					N/A
8					Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly
9					N/A
10					Kathleen Williams
11					N/A
12
13
14					Ashley Banjo ^4

Notes

1. ^ Guest Judges mainly took the place of another judge during auditions, who were absent during specific sessions for certain reasons (i.e. medical issue).
2. ^ Cowell was not present for auditions in the fifth series due to overseas commitments; he served as a judge for the live shows only.
3. ^ Brook was credited as a guest judge for this series for the Manchester auditions, after the producers dropped plans for her to be a fourth judge on the programme.
4. ^ Cowell was forced to miss the live shows for the fourteenth series due to a back injury; Banjo stood in for him during these rounds.

Series overview

Series	Start	Finish	Winner's prize ^1	Winner	Runner-up	Third place	Ave. UK viewers (millions)
1	9 June 2007	17 June 2007	£100,000	Paul Potts	N/A^2		8.38
2	12 April 2008	31 May 2008		George Sampson	Signature	Andrew Johnston	10.21
3	11 April 2009	30 May 2009		Diversity	Susan Boyle	Julian Smith	13.36
4	17 April 2010	5 June 2010		Spelbound	Twist and Pulse	Kieran Gaffney	11.05
5	16 April 2011	4 June 2011		Jai McDowall	Ronan Parke	New Bounce	10.40
6	24 March 2012	12 May 2012	£500,000	Ashleigh and Pudsey	Jonathan and Charlotte	Only Boys Aloud	10.07
7	13 April 2013	8 June 2013	£250,000	Attraction	Jack Carroll	Richard & Adam	9.71
8	12 April 2014	7 June 2014		Collabro	Lucy Kay	Bars & Melody	9.84
9	11 April 2015	31 May 2015		Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse	Jamie Raven	Côr Glanaethwy	9.31
10	9 April 2016	28 May 2016		Richard Jones	Wayne Woodward	Boogie Storm	9.43
11	15 April 2017	3 June 2017		Tokio Myers	Issy Simpson	Daliso Chaponda	9.12
12	14 April 2018	3 June 2018		Lost Voice Guy	Robert White	Donchez Dacres	8.33
13	6 April 2019	2 June 2019		Colin Thackery	X (Marc Spelmann)	Ben Hart	8.78 ^3
14	11 April 2020	10 October 2020		Jon Courtenay	Sign Along with Us	Steve Royle	8.17

Notes

1. ^ In addition to the cash prize, winners also earn the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in the year they win.
2. ^ The results of this series' final did not declare who was in 2nd and 3rd place amongst the other finalists.
3. ^ The average viewing figures for the thirteenth series do not include roughly a quarter of those broadcast, as official sources did not disclose their figures following their broadcast.

Series 1 (2007)

The first series was aired during 2007, between 9–17 June. Auditions for this series took place within the cities of Manchester, Birmingham, London and Cardiff, between January and February earlier that year. The series had 3 live semi-finals, featuring a total of 24 semi-finalists, all of whom were vying for a chance to perform at the Royal Variety Performance, as well as claiming a £100,000 cash prize. The series was won by opera singer Paul Potts; the results of the other finalists were not announced.

Series 2 (2008)

The second series was aired during 2008, between 12 April to 31 May, and featured notable differences. Not only did the series run for much longer, auditions took place in Blackpool and Glasgow, the latter following complaints that Scotland hadn't been visited during the previous series, along with Manchester, Birmingham, London and Cardiff. In addition, the show had five live semi-finals, featuring a total of 40 semi-finalists. The series was won by street-dancer George Sampson, with dual dance group Signature coming in second, and singer Andrew Johnston placing third.

Series 3 (2009)

The third series was aired during 2009, between 11 April to 30 May, with auditions held in the same five cities as before. Initially, the producers intended to change the format by including a fourth judge on the panel, but this was later dropped a few days after auditions began. The series was won by dance troupe Diversity, with singer Susan Boyle coming in second, and saxophonist Julian Smith placing third. It is the highest watched series in the history of Britain's Got Talent, attracting an average of over 13.3 million viewers.

Series 4 (2010)

The fourth series was aired during 2010, between 17 April to 5 June; a single episode of this series, intended for airing on 22 May, was pushed back to 23 May, in order to avoid it clashing with live coverage of the UEFA Champions League Final that year. The auditions were once more held across the same five cities as before, though the series also held auditions with Newcastle upon Tyne; the city had been originally planned to hold auditions for the previous series, but these were cancelled before this could happen. Owing to illness, Cowell was unable to attend the Birmingham auditions, which led to Louis Walsh being in brought in as a guest judge for these. The series was won by gymnastic troupe Spelbound, with dancing duo Twist and Pulse coming in second, and drummer Kieran Gaffney placing third.

Series 5 (2011)

The fifth series was aired during 2011, between 16 April to 4 June, and was the first to be broadcast completely in high-definition; like before, a single episode intended for airing on 28 May, was pushed back to 29 May, to avoid it clashing with live coverage of the UEFA Champions League Final that year. Auditions took place across the same five cities, though also included Liverpool. This series saw a change in the judging panel, following Piers Morgan's departure from the show, with Holden joined by David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre during the auditions; Cowell appeared during the live episodes of the series with the rest of the panel,[26][27] while Louis Walsh returned as a guest judge for the London auditions when Hasselhoff couldn't attend due to other commitments at the time.[28] The series was won by singer Jai McDowall, with singer Ronan Parke coming in second, and boyband New Bounce placing third.

Series 6 (2012)

The sixth series was aired during 2012, between 24 March and 12 May. For this series, the cash prize was increased from £100,000 to £500,000, and a new feature was introduced called the "Wildcard", in which the judges could select one of the acts eliminated in the semi-finals, to return and compete in the finals. The show also increased the number of semi-finalist for the semi-finals to 45, with nine acts per semi-final, and the number of judges for the entire contest to 4; the previous series also featured four judges, albeit for the live episodes only. In addition, the show attempted to bring in a new way of voting for the semi-finals via a mobile app, but this was suspended for the series after it suffered technical problems during the first live semi-final.

This series featured an open audition in London, along with inviting other acts to audition via YouTube, before holding Judges' Auditions within Birmingham, London, Manchester and Cardiff, Blackpool and Edinburgh. As both McIntyre and Hasselhoff announced in late 2011 they wouldn't be returning,[23] the show announced on 2 January 2012 that they would be replaced by David Walliams and Alesha Dixon,[29] and join both Holden and Cowell for the new series, the latter having announced he would be returning as a full-time judge on the show.[30] Holden was unable to attend some of the auditions due to her pregnancy that year, leading to Carmen Electra stepping in as a guest judge for these. The series was won by trainer and dog duo Ashleigh and Pudsey, with opera duo Jonathan and Charlotte coming in second, and Welsh boys choir Only Boys Aloud placing third.

Series 7 (2013)

The seventh series was aired during 2013, between 13 April to 8 June; the show took a break on 29 May, due to live football coverage of England's friendly with the Republic of Ireland. While the show retained the new features introduced in the previous series, the cash prize was reduced to £250,000, with the series featuring auditions within five cities – Birmingham, London, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester. The series was won by shadow theatre troupe Attraction, with comedian Jack Carroll coming in second, and opera duo Richard & Adam placing third.

Series 8 (2014)

The eighth series aired during 2014, between 12 April to 7 June. This series was the first to introduce the "Golden Buzzer", and for the first time since the first series, auditions were not held in Scotland, instead being held in Northern Ireland within Belfast, along with Cardiff, London, Birmingham and Manchester; Edinburgh joined these cities to hold open auditions in late 2013, along with Blackpool and Brighton, with additional open auditions held in various local branches of Morrisons within "Talent Spot" tents, owing to the show's sponsorship deal with the supermarket chain at the time. The series was won by boy band Collabro, with opera singer Lucy Kay coming in second, and rapper duo Bars & Melody placing third.

Series 9 (2015)

The ninth series was aired during 2015, between 11 April to 31 May. This series saw the "Wildcard" feature updated; along with the judges being able to put forth an eliminated act from the semi-finals into the final (referred to as the Judges' Wildcard), the show now also allowed the public to vote between the three most popular eliminated acts, with the one with the highest number of votes going forward into the final – this act is referred to as the Public Wildcard. Audition took place within Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, and London, with the latter three cities holding open auditions in late 2014 along with Newcastle, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Leeds, Norwich, and Bristol. The winner of the series was trainer and dog duo Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse, with magician Jamie Raven coming second, and Welsh choir Côr Glanaethwy placing third.

Series 10 (2016)

The tenth series was aired during 2016, between 9 April to 28 May. Auditions were held within Liverpool, Birmingham and London, with all three holding open auditions in late 2015 along with Cardiff, Glasgow, and Manchester. It was the last series to hold live episodes within The Fountain Studios, before its closure at the end of the year. The series was won by magician Richard Jones, with singer Wayne Woodward coming in second, and dance group Boogie Storm placing third.

Series 11 (2017)

The eleventh series was aired during 2017, between 15 April to 3 June; the final was originally planned for 4 June, but this was moved forward to avoid it clashing with the One Love Manchester benefit concert that day.[31] The series saw two major changes: the first saw the total number of semi-finalist reduced to 40 with eight per each semi-final, as it had been prior to the sixth series; the second saw the Judges' vote being dropped, with the two semi-finalists with the highest number of public votes moving on into the final. In addition, the live episodes were now broadcast from Elstree Studios, owing to the closure of the previous site. Auditions were held within Salford, Birmingham, London, and Blackpool, with the latter two cities holding open auditions in late 2016, along with Peterborough, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Kingston upon Hull, Lincoln, Reading, Manchester and Luton. The series was won by pianist Tokio Myers, with magician Issy Simpson coming second, and stand-up comedian Daliso Chaponda placing third.

Series 12 (2018)

The twelfth series was aired during 2018, between 14 April to 3 June. Following the previous series, the Judges' vote was brought back into the show's format, while the live episodes were aired from Hammersmith Apollo and presented solely by Declan Donnelly; although Anthony McPartlin had stepped down from his TV commitments in March 2018, he still appeared in the series' audition episodes, which had been filmed during January and February that year.[32] Auditions were held within Manchester, Blackpool and London,[33] with two of these cities holding open auditions in 2017, alongside a number of locations within the United Kingdom and Ireland, including Edinburgh, Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Dublin, and Inverness.[34] The series was won by stand-up comedian Lost Voice Guy, with comedy singer/pianist Robert White coming second, and singer Donchez Dacres placing third.

Series 13 (2019)

The thirteenth series was aired during 2019, between 6 April to 2 June. Following his absence from the previous series' live episodes, Anthony McPartlin made his return to Britain's Got Talent this year. Auditions were held across the same cities as before, including London and Manchester. This series saw three notable events – the withdrawal of an act from the live semi-finals, despite securing a place through their audition; the surprise return of a participant from a previous series' contest, operating under a veiled alias; and the contest being won by the oldest participant to take part. The series was won by singer Colin Thackery, with mentalist Marc Spelmann (under the stage name of "X") coming second, and magician Ben Hart placing third.

Series 14 (2020)

The fourteenth series was aired during 2020, but in two parts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the United Kingdom that year. The first half focused on audition episodes that had already been filmed earlier that year, and were broadcast between April and May.[35] Production resumed on the remaining episodes for the second half, following a hiatus, which were broadcast between August and October,[36] though with several changes: measures were put in place to protect those involved from infection, including the use of a virtual audience, and social distancing; all episodes were aired weekly; and all semi-finals were pre-recorded, with the voting system changed as a direct result for these rounds.

Before the first semi-final was to be filmed, Simon Cowell sustained an injury following an accident in August, forcing him to be absent for the rest of the series and leading to him being replaced by Ashley Banjo as a guest judge in his place.[37] The series was won by comedic pianist Jon Courtenay, with sign-language choir Sign Along With Us finishing in second place, and comedian Steve Royle in third place.

Series 15

The fifteenth series was planned for production and broadcast in 2021, yet ITV, Thames and Syco Entertainment were concerned on how to safely conduct filming in the midst of the new government restrictions to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. After initially deciding to postpone production to later in the year,[38] all parties involved agreed that, for health and safety reasons, the show would be axed for 2021, and that production would not begin until the following year.[39][40]

Britain's Got More Talent

Stephen Mulhern had hosted the sister show to Britain's Got Talent from 2007–2019

Britain's Got More Talent (often shortened to BGMT) is a companion sister show that was broadcast on ITV2 from 9 June 2007 to 2 June 2019 and hosted by Stephen Mulhern. Each series coincided with the broadcast of each series of Britain's Got Talent, with episodes airing after each episode of the main programme, and featuring regular appearances by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly along with the judges for the respective year. The format was based on those of former spin-off programmes such as The Xtra Factor (the companion show of The X Factor), but with notable differences depending on what stage of the competition the spin-off was airing. While the auditions stage was being broadcast, its sister show focused on highlights of acts that couldn't be shown on the main show, with Mulhern operating in a similar manner to the main show's hosts, though with interviews with participants before and after their performance. During live episodes, the sister show conducted live "after-show" episodes, featuring interviews with the semi-finalists and eventual finalists, and talks with the judges. The series also aired a set of compilation episodes featuring the best and worst auditions from that year's contest, titled Britain's Got Talent: Best and Worst.

On 7 October 2019, Simon Cowell announced that Britain's Got More Talent would be shifted onto online platforms and thus provide more focus towards Britain's Got Talent. The decision was made due to changes in viewing habits from the sister show's target audience. Its replacement, Britain's Got Talent: Unseen, premiered on the ITV Hub in 2020, following the airing of the first episode of series 14 of the main show.[41]

Britain's Got Talent: The Champions

In 2019, Simon Cowell opted to create a spin-off edition of the contest, following the success of the spin-off for America's Got Talent. His plan was to produce a contest under the same subtitle and format as the American spin-off, focusing on bringing the best talent from across the Got Talent franchise, many from the British edition, to compete for a cash prize and the title of "World Champion" in the British public's opinion. Both the contest and the production of the programme began in Spring of that year, with the spin-off's planned broadcast date announced in the 2019 series finale of Britain's Got Talent.[4] The spin-off was filmed between 24 and 30 July, premiering on 31 August 2019, with the contest being won by dancing duo Twist and Pulse.

Britain's Got Talent Christmas Spectacular

On 1 December 2020, ITV confirmed that it was making a one-off Christmas special of Britain's Got Talent, which would feature the most memorable and talented acts over the past fourteen series of the programme's history,[42] despite initial concerns that such a special would not be filmed due to the British government instituting a second lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic during October that year. The special was aired on 25 December 2020, hosted by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, with the judging panel from the fourteenth series in attendance  – Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and David Walliams were joined by Ashley Banjo from the series' live rounds, whilst Simon Cowell continued his recovery from a back injury he received earlier that year.[43]

Awards and nominations

Britain's Got Talent has been nominated for a number of National Television Awards in the category of 'Most Popular Talent Show' since 2007. But has lost out to its sister shows The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing. Ant and Dec have won the award for 'Most Popular Entertainment Presenters' at the same awards for nineteen consecutive years (as of January 2020). Britain's Got Talent has also been nominated for two British Academy Television Awards in 2008, but failed to win any awards. In 2007 and 2008, the show was nominated at the TV Quick and Choice Awards in the 'Best Talent Show' category, losing out to The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing respectively.

In 2008, it was a recipient of a Royal Television Society Programme Award for its technical achievements. It has also won four Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards from five nominations. In 2009, it won its first ever Digital Spy Reality Award for George Sampson for 'Favourite Reality Contestant'. The show was further nominated in the 'Reality Show' category, but lost out to The X Factor in the 'Reality TV Presenter' category for Ant & Dec and two nominations in the 'Reality TV Judge' category for Cowell and Morgan.

Year	Group	Award	Nominee	Result
2007	National Television Awards	Most Popular Talent Show	Britain's Got Talent	Nominated
		Most Popular Entertainment Presenter	Ant & Dec	Won
	Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards	Best Reality Show	Britain's Got Talent	Nominated
		Best TV Presenters	Ant & Dec	Won
	TV Quick and Choice Awards	Best Talent Show	Britain's Got Talent	Nominated
2008	National Television Awards	Most Popular Talent Show		Nominated
		Most Popular Entertainment Presenter	Ant & Dec	Won
	Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards	Favourite Winner	George Sampson	Won
	British Academy Television Awards	Lew Grade Award	Britain's Got Talent	Nominated
		Audience Award		Nominated
	Royal Television Society Programme Awards	Best Production Design-Entertainment	Dominic Tolfts	Won
	Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards	Best TV Presenters	Ant & Dec	Won
		Best Family TV Show	Britain's Got Talent	Won
		Best TV Baddie	Simon Cowell	Won
2009	TV Quick and Choice Awards	Best Talent Show	Britain's Got Talent	Won[44]
	Digital Spy Reality TV Awards	Favourite TV Reality		Nominated
		Favourite TV Reality Judge	Simon Cowell	Nominated
			Piers Morgan	Nominated
		Favourite TV Reality Presenters	Ant & Dec	Nominated
		Favourite Reality Contestant	George Sampson	Won
2010	National Television Awards	Most Popular Talent Show	Britain's Got Talent	Nominated
	British Academy Television Awards	Best Entertainment Programme		Won
2011	National Television Awards	Most Popular Talent Show		Nominated
	TV Choice Awards	Best Talent Show		Won
2012	National Television Awards	Most Popular Talent Show		Nominated
2013	Broadcast Awards	Best Entertainment Programme		Nominated
	National Television Awards	Most Popular Talent Show		Nominated
2014				Nominated
2015				Nominated
		TV Judge	Simon Cowell	Nominated
			David Walliams	Won
2016		Most Popular Talent Show	Britain's Got Talent	Nominated
	2016 British Academy Television Awards	Best Entertainment Programme	Britain's Got Talent	Nominated[45]
2017	22nd National Television Awards	Talent Show	Britain's Got Talent	Nominated[46]
		TV Judge	Simon Cowell	Nominated[46]
			David Walliams	Nominated[46]
	2017 British Academy Television Awards	Best Entertainment Programme	Britain's Got Talent	Nominated[47]
	Diversity in Media Awards	TV Programme of the Year	Britain's Got Talent	Nominated
2018	23rd National Television Awards	Talent Show	Britain's Got Talent	Nominated
		TV Judge	Simon Cowell	Nominated
			David Walliams	Won
	2018 British Academy Television Awards	Best Entertainment Programme	Britain's Got Talent	Won[48]
2019	24th National Television Awards	Talent Show	Britain's Got Talent	Nominated
		TV Judge	Simon Cowell	Nominated
			David Walliams	Won
	2019 British Academy Television Awards	Best Entertainment Programme	Britain's Got Talent	Won
2020	25th National Television Awards	TV Judge	Simon Cowell	Nominated
			David Walliams	Won
		Talent Show	Britain's Got Talent	Nominated
		TV Presenter	Ant & Dec	Won

Controversies and criticism

The show was criticised by psychologist Glenn Wilson, who referred to it as a "freak show". He stated that "[contestants'] deficiencies and shortcomings are as important as their talent. We enjoy the stress we are putting these people under – will they or will they not survive?"[49]

In two separate interviews in 2012, MC Kinky said "Shows like X Factor and Britain's Got Talent reduce the art of making music and practising your craft to the level of a low rent game show with huge financial backing and support. It's a means to make money, not a means to produce ground breaking or interesting artists that demonstrate what they are feeling or are compelled to do. It's corporate"[50] and "it's a churn 'em out fast food form of putrid shit that I have no affiliation with".[51]

In 2013, Bruce Forsyth questioned the show's allowing children to audition. He said, "I don't think that's entertainment. I don't think they should put children on that are too young. If you're going to do that, have a separate show. Have a children's show, British Children Have Talent." Cowell responded to Forsyth, stating that: "someone, Mr Grumpy, said we shouldn't have children your age on the show", after the performance of dance troupe Youth Creation.[52] Jessie J joined the debate, declaring: "I cannot agree with kids having to go through three or four auditions when it's purely for ridicule. I don't understand why it's legal, I think it's wrong".[52]

In 2013 it was revealed that up to 50% of acts on the televised shows had been headhunted by producers. In 2012, electropop band Superpowerless were approached to appear in the semi-finals. They attended the audition after assurances that the act would be portrayed in a positive light. On the day they felt that all interviews, especially those with Stephen Mulhern, were conducted in a manner intending to portray them in a negative light, reducing their act to a novelty/comedy routine intended for ridicule and humiliation. While many newspapers wrote articles on this topic, very few were published as the news outlets were told that running the story would cut that publication out of any advance coverage of the show in the future.[53]

Live tour

Between 2008 and 2011, several of the show's semi-finalists, finalists, and winners from various series, took part in a live tour titled "Britain's Got Talent Tour". The event consisted of several shows held across various UK cities during the Summer months, with site locations including Cardiff, Liverpool, Birmingham, Belfast, Sheffield, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Nottingham, London, and Manchester. When the first live tour, hosted by Stephen Mulhern, was announced on 17 April 2008, demand for tickets for the thirteen dates set for it was high. This led to an extension in the number of performances for it, increasing the overall number from twelve – the ten finalists from that year's series and two of the semi-finalists, Tracey Lee Collins and Anya Sparks – to twenty two, including matinées, and a duet with Faryl Smith and Andrew Johnston. In 2009, Mulhern hosted a new live tour, which initially featured four dates before it was later increased to run for eighteen shows, and included performances by Diversity, Flawless, Aidan Davis, Shaun Smith, Stavros Flatley, Hollie Steel, 2 Grand, Julian Smith, Shaheen Jafargholi, Susan Boyle, Darth Jackson, DJ Talent and the 2008 winner, George Sampson. In 2010, a third live tour was created, featuring a much larger schedule and taking place across 16 cities and 23 shows. It was hosted by comedian Paddy McGuinness, and featured performances by that year's finalists of Britain's Got Talent – Spelbound, Twist & Pulse, Kieran Gaffney, Tobias Mead, Tina & Chandi, Paul Burling, Christopher Stone, Janey Cutler, Liam McNally and Connected.

In 2011, a fourth live tour was created. Hosted by Mulhern, it featured performances by the finalists of that year's Britain's Got Talent – Jai McDowall, Ronan Parke, New Bounce, Razy Gogonea, Michael Collings, Paul Gbegbaje, Steven Hall, James Hobley, Les Gibson and Jean Martyn.[54] However ticket sales were drastically reduced due to low interest in the tour was as a result of the financial climate that year. Because there were raised concerns a new tour would flop if sales failed to improve, the tour was axed in 2012.

Merchandise

There are 6 pieces of related merchandise:

• Best of The Auditions DVD (2009)
• The Electronic Board Game (2009)
• The Magic Set (2009)
• Finalists of 2009: Annual 2010 (2009)
• Be the judge buzzer (2010)
• Finalists of 2010: Annual 2011 (2010)

BGT App

Since 2010, a Britain's Got Talent app has been available on Apple's App Store and Google Play. The features of the app vary from year to year but always include an interactive feature (e.g. a buzzer, polls or quizzes), relevant social media feeds and clips from the show. In 2015, free in-app voting was introduced. This means viewers are able to vote free of charge five times per voting window during the semi-finals and final rounds.

References

1. "Britain's Got Talent". Elstree Studios. Archived from the original on 13 June 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
2. Reporters, Telegraph (11 April 2018). "Declan Donnelly to present Britain's Got Talent live shows without Ant" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
3. Jamieson, Alastair (3 June 2009). "Susan Boyle could be in Priory clinic for weeks, says doctor". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
4. Darvill, Josh (3 June 2019). "Britain's Got Talent to air all star The Champions series". TellyMix. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
5. "Cowell signs ITV deal keeping X Factor until 2020 and BGT until 2024". 12 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
6. McGarry, Lisa (13 January 2012). "Fern Britton was supposed to be Britain's Got Talent judge". Unreality TV. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
7. Kilkelly, Daniel (13 August 2005). "O'Grady to host prime-time talent show". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 13 August 2005.
8. McGarry, Lisa (23 February 2006). "Paul O'Grady Quits Simon Cowell's New ITV Show!". Unreality TV. Archived from the original on 18 July 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2006.
9. "Paul O'Grady: I gave up chance to host Britain's Got Talent". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. 5 September 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
10. "BGT judges feeling a golden buzz". Express & Star. Midland News Association. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
11. Wightman, Catriona (17 January 2014). "Britain's Got Talent: Is a golden buzzer a good idea? – vote". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
12. "Ant and Dec 'couldn't bear' taking Cowell's place on BGT". breakingnews.ie. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
13. "Britain's Got Talent shock as acts have to perform again to get into semi-finals | TV: Latest News | STV Entertainment". Entertainment.stv.tv. 29 May 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
14. Lewis, Rebecca (16 January 2016). "Fountain Studios, home to The X Factor and BGT, sold for £1". Metro. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
15. Moore, Matthew (14 January 2009). "Kelly Brook named Britain's Got Talent judge". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
16. "Brook axed as talent show judge". BBC News. 20 January 2009.
17. Dickinson, Matt (20 January 2009). "Kelly Brook axed from Britain's Got Talent". The Independent. UK.
18. "Kelly Brook Axed from Britain's Got Talent". Daily Mirror. UK. 20 January 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
19. Louis Walsh replaces Simon Cowell on Britain's Got Talent 2010! Archived 17 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine Unreality TV, 3 February 2010
20. "Britain's Got Talent in turmoil as Piers Morgan quits for US and Simon Cowell tires of 'horrific' acts". Daily Mirror. 16 June 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
21. "Michael McIntyre joins Britain's Got Talent". BBC News. 14 December 2010.
22. "Britain's Got Talent 2011: Michael McIntyre and David Hasselhoff join judging panel". Metro. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
23. "David Hasselhoff confirms 'Britain's Got Talent' exit". Digital Spy. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
24. "Alesha Dixon leaves Strictly for Britain's Got Talent". BBC. 2 January 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
25. Alex, Susannah; er (23 August 2020). "Britain's Got Talent announces Ashley Banjo as Simon Cowell's replacement for semi-finals". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
26. McIntyre, Hasselhoff for 'Britain's Got Talent' Digital Spy, 14 December 2010
27. Sneak peek at rock dog and heartthrob on Britain's Got Talent STV Entertainment, 12 April 2011
28. Walsh back on Britain's Got Talent RTÉ Ten, 30 December 2010
29. Hallett, Emma (2 January 2012). "Alesha Dixon quits Strictly Come Dancing for Britain's Got Talent – News – TV & Radio". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
30. "Simon Cowell to return to 'Britain's Got Talent', confirms ITV boss". Digital Spy. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
31. Westbrook, Caroline (2 June 2017). "Little Mix cancel Britain's Got Talent final performance after show's switch to Saturday night". Metro. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
32. "Declan Donnelly to host Britain's Got Talent solo as Ant McPartlin temporarily 'steps down from his TV commitments'".
33. "Britain's Got Talent 2018 auditions: Judges' audition dates, venues, tickets". 16 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
34. "BGT Open Auditions are coming to a town near YOU!". ITV.com. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
35. Stolworthy, Jacob. "Britain's Got Talent: ITV delays live finals due to coronavirus". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
36. "Britain's Got Talent Episode 1". Press Centre. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
37. "Ashley Banjo to step in for Simon Cowell for Britain's Got Talent semi-finals". Press Centre. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
38. "Britain's Got Talent - postponement". Press Centre. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
39. "Britain's Got Talent Series 15 Postponed 'til 2022". ITV. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
40. "Britain's Got Talent postponed until 2022 over Covid safety fears". www.bbc.co.uk/news/. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
41. "Fans desperate to save Britain's Got More Talent after spin-off is pulled from TV". Radio Times. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
42. "When is Britain's Got Talent Christmas special on TV? Contestants, judges and latest news". Radio Times. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
43. Josh Darvill. "Britain's Got Talent Christmas special recap! Watch all the performances". tellymix.co.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
44. "TV Quick & TV Choice Awards: The Winners". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
45. "2016 Television Entertainment Programme – BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org.
46. "The National Television Awards 2017 – winners in full". 26 January 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
47. "2017 Television Entertainment Programme – BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org.
48. "2018 Television Entertainment Programme – BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org.
49. Wilson, Glenn (1 June 2009). "The pressure of sudden TV stardom". BBC News. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
50. "Feral is Kinky Interview 2012 the Londoner talks about Moombahton, electronic genres and collaborations". Swide.com. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
51. "Feral aka MC Kinky". Stewartwho.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
52. O'Brien, Liam (1 June 2013). "The Voice judge Jessie J slams Britain's Got Talent for allowing children to audition". The Independent.
53. "Britain's Got Bullies – BGT's War on Nerds". MCM BUZZ – Movies, TV, Comics, Gaming, Anime, Cosplay News & Reviews.
54. McLean, Amy. "Preview: Britain's Got Talent Tour opens in Newcastle – Theatre & Arts – Entertainment". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 8 January 2012.

External links

Britain's Got Talent at itv.com Britain's Got Talent at stv.tv Britain's Got Talent at u.tv

Britain's Got Talent on Twitter Britain's Got Talent at IMDb