Britain's Got Talent (series 12)

The twelfth series of Britain's Got Talent, a British talent competition series, began broadcasting in the UK during 2018, from 14 April to 3 June on ITV. For this series, the live episodes were broadcast from Hammersmith Apollo, and presented by Declan Donnelly only; while Anthony McPartlin suspended his TV commitments on 19 March 2018, he still appeared in the audition episodes as these had already been filmed in January and February earlier that year.[1] Compared to previous years, this series featured a higher number of participants for the judges to select semi-finalists from, not counting those who received the Golden Buzzer, and saw the return of the Judges' Vote to the show's format.

Britain's Got Talent
Series 12
Presented by	Anthony McPartlin (ITV; Auditions only) Declan Donnelly (ITV) Stephen Mulhern (ITV2)
Judges	Simon Cowell Amanda Holden Alesha Dixon David Walliams
Winner	Lost Voice Guy
Runner-ups	Robert White Donchez Dacres
Release
Original network	ITV ITV2 (BGMT)
Original release	14 April – 3 June 2018
Series chronology

The twelfth series was won by stand-up comedian Lost Voice Guy, with comic singer & pianist Robert White finishing in second place, and reggae singer Donchez Dacres in third place. During its broadcast, the series averaged 8.34 million viewers.

Series overview

Open auditions were held the previous year between October to December, before the Judges' auditions took place between January and February 2018, within the cities of Blackpool, London and Manchester.[2] This series is notable for the absence of Anthony McPartlin in the live episodes, after he stepped down from his TV commitments in the aftermath of a traffic accident on 18 March 2018 that he was involved in. While McPartlin still appeared during audition episodes on both Britain's Got Talent and Britain's Got More Talent, as these had already been filmed prior to the start of the series' broadcast, his colleague Declan Donnelly chose to present the live episodes without him, in the wake of his colleague's decision.[1]

This series saw a far higher number of participants making it through the first stage of auditions, than had been recorded in previous years - in addition to those receiving the Golden Buzzer, around 182 acts successfully reached the second stage.[3] Following the eleventh series, the judges' vote was brought back for the semi-finals,[3][4] after Cowell admitted in June 2017 that he disliked its removal from the show's format.[5] Disruptions caused by bad weather resulted in the first live semi-final being taken off the air for a brief time, following the first performance, while a stage invader attempted to disrupt proceedings during the broadcast of the second live semi-final.[6]

Of the participants that took part, only forty made it into the five live semi-finals - of these acts, reggae singer Donchez Dacres, opera singer Gruffydd Wyn Roberts, singer-guitarists duo Jack & Tim, singer Lifford Shillingford, and magician Marc Spelmann,[7] each received a golden buzzer during their auditions - with eight appearing in each one, and eleven of these acts making it into the live final; the wildcard act chosen by the judges was B Positive Choir, after they lost out in the tied Judges' vote in the second semi-final.[8] The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:

  Winner |   Runner-up |   Third place |   Finalist |   Semi-finalist

Judges' Wildcard Finalist | Golden Buzzer Audition

Participant [9]	Age(s) ^1	Genre	Act	From	Semi-final	Result
Acrocadabra ^2	9–17	Acrobatics	Acrobatics Group	Birmingham	3	Eliminated
Aleksandar Mileusnić	23	Singing	Singer	Stevenage, Hertfordshire	3	Eliminated
Amy Marie Borg	16	Singing	Opera Singer	Malta	4	Eliminated
Andrew Lancaster	32	Comedy	Impressionist	Lancashire	2	Eliminated
B Positive Choir	22–62	Singing	Choir	Various ^3	2	Finalist
Baba Yega	21–33	Dance	Dance Group	Belgium	4	Eliminated
Bring It North ^2	10–11	Singing	Boyband	Various	5	Eliminated
Cali Swing	9–14	Dance	Salsa Dance Group	London	1	Eliminated
Calum Courtney	10	Singing	Singer	Essex	2	Finalist
DeMille & Muoneké ^2	22, 51	Singing	Jazz Singing Duet	Weston-super-Mare, Somerset	5	Eliminated
DMU Gospel Choir	16–55	Singing	Gospel Choir	Leicester, Leicestershire	3	Eliminated
Donchez Dacres	60	Singing	Reggae Singer	Wolverhampton, West Midlands	2	Third Place
DVJ	10–18	Dance	Street Dance Group	Various ^3	4	Finalist
Ellie & Jeki	29, 34	Magic	Quick-Change Duo	South Korea	1	Eliminated
Father Ray Kelly	64	Singing	Singer	Oldcastle, Republic of Ireland	5	Eliminated
Futunity	8–24	Dance	Dance Group	London	2	Eliminated
Giang Brothers	29–33	Acrobatics	Hand Balancing Duo	Vietnam	5	Finalist
Gruffydd Wyn Roberts	22	Singing	Opera Singer	Anglesey, Wales	3	Finalist
Jack & Tim	12, 43	Singing / Music	Singers & Guitarists Duo	Norwich, Norfolk	4	Finalist
Lexie & Christopher	10, 10	Dance	Latin Dance Duo	Manchester & Sheffield	5	Eliminated
Lifford Shillingford	42	Singing	Singer	London	1	Eliminated
Lost Voice Guy	37	Comedy	Stand-up Comedian	Newcastle upon Tyne	1	Winner
Maddox Dixon	31	Magic	Close-up Magician	Buckingham, Buckinghamshire	1	Eliminated
Magus Utopia	24–40	Magic	Illusionists	Netherlands	2	Eliminated
Mandy Muden	55	Magic / Comedy	Comic Magician	London	5	Eliminated
Marc Spelmann	46	Magic	Magician	London	3	Eliminated
Marty Putz	55	Comedy	Comedian	Canada	4	Eliminated
Matt Johnson	43	Danger	Escape Artist	Rotherham, South Yorkshire	1	Eliminated
Micky P Kerr	36	Singing / Music / Comedy	Comic Singer & Guitarist	Leeds, West Yorkshire	5	Finalist
Mr Uekusa	30	Variety	Variety Performer	Japan	3	Eliminated
Nick Page	47	Comedy	Stand-up Comedian	Gloucestershire	2	Eliminated
Noel James	52	Comedy	Comedian	Wales	4	Eliminated
Olena Uutai	31	Music	Jaw Harpist	Russia	4	Eliminated
Rise Unbroken ^2	10–24	Dance	Dance Group	Sheffield, South Yorkshire	3	Eliminated
Robert White	41	Singing / Music / Comedy	Comic Singer & Pianist	West Sussex	3	Runner-Up
Ronan Busfield	33	Singing	Musical Theatre Singer	Bedfordshire	2	Eliminated
Sarah Llewellyn	32	Singing / Variety	Opera Singer & Contortionist	United States	5	Eliminated
Sascha Williams	29	Danger	Balancing Acrobat	Australia	4	Eliminated
Shameer Rayes	19	Dance	Dancer	Manchester	1	Eliminated
The D-Day Darlings	27–39	Singing	Vocal Group	Warwickshire	1	Finalist

• ^1 Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this series.
• ^2 Each respective participant(s) auditioned under a different name, before changing them for their semi-final appearance.
• ^3 Locations for members of each respective group, or the group as a whole, were not disclosed during their time on the programme.

Semi-finals summary

Buzzed out | Judges' vote |   Won the public vote

  Won the judges' vote |   Lost the judges' vote |   Eliminated

Semi-final 1 (28 May)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Diversity, and cast of Matilda the Musical[10]

Semi-Finalist	Order	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished [11]
		Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Walliams
Cali Swing	1					7th - Eliminated
Lifford Shillingford	2					6th - Eliminated
Shameer Rayes	3					4th - Eliminated
Maddox Dixon	4					3rd (Lost Judges' Vote)
Ellie & Jeki	5					8th - Eliminated
Lost Voice Guy	6					1st (Won Public Vote)
Matt Johnson ^4	7					5th - Eliminated
The D-Day Darlings	8					2nd (Won Judges' Vote)

• ^4 For health and safety reasons, Matt Johnson's semi-final performance required paramedics to be brought in as a precaution.[12]

Semi-final 2 (29 May)

Guest Performer, Results Show: Alfie Boe[10]

Semi-Finalist	Order	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished [11]
		Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Walliams
B Positive Choir ^5	1					3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote)
Futunity	2					4th - Eliminated
Calum Courtney	3					2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote)
Andrew Lancaster	4					7th - Eliminated
Nick Page	5					8th - Eliminated
Ronan Busfield	6					6th - Eliminated
Magus Utopia	7					5th - Eliminated
Donchez Dacres	8					1st (Won Public Vote)

• ^5 B Positive Choir were later sent through to the final as the judges' wildcard.

Semi-final 3 (30 May)

Guest Performer, Results Show: Rita Ora[10]

Semi-Finalist	Order	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished [11]
		Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Walliams
Acrocadabra	1					6th - Eliminated
DMU Gospel Choir	2					7th - Eliminated
Marc Spelmann	3					3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote)
Mr Uekusa	4					8th - Eliminated
Aleksandar Mileusnić	5					4th - Eliminated
Robert White	6					1st (Won Public Vote)
Rise Unbroken	7					5th - Eliminated
Gruffydd Wyn Roberts	8					2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote)

Semi-final 4 (31 May)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Cast of Chicago[10]

Semi-Finalist	Order	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished [11]
		Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Walliams
Olena Uutai	1					8th - Eliminated
Amy Marie Borg	2					5th - Eliminated
Noel James	3					3rd (Lost Judges' Vote)
Baba Yega	4					6th - Eliminated
Jack & Tim	5					2nd (Won Judges' Vote)
Sascha Williams ^6	6					4th - Eliminated
Marty Putz	7					7th - Eliminated
DVJ	8					1st (Won Public Vote)

^6 For health and safety reasons, Sascha William's semi-final performance required fire extinguishers to be on standby as a precaution.

Semi-final 5 (1 June)

Guest Performer, Results Show: Tokio Myers[10]

Semi-Finalist	Order	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished [11]
		Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Walliams
DeMille & Muoneké	1					6th - Eliminated
Lexie & Christopher	2					7th - Eliminated
Micky P Kerr	3					1st (Won Public Vote)
Sarah Llewellyn	4					8th - Eliminated
Bring It North	5					5th - Eliminated
Mandy Muden	6					3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote)
Father Ray Kelly	7					4th - Eliminated
Giang Brothers	8					2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote)

Final (3 June)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Cast of Tina: The Musical, and cast of Magic Mike Live[10]

  Winner |   Runner-up |   3rd place

Finalist	Order	Finished [11]
Calum Courtney	1	9th
The D-Day Darlings	2	7th
Jack & Tim	3	8th
Robert White	4	2nd
B Positive Choir	5	11th
Lost Voice Guy	6	1st
Giang Brothers	7	5th
Gruffydd Wyn Roberts	8	4th
DVJ	9	6th
Micky P Kerr	10	10th
Donchez Dacres	11	3rd

Ratings

Episode	Air date [13]	Total viewers (millions) [14]	ITV Weekly rank [14]
Auditions 1	14 April	10.98	1
Auditions 2	21 April	10.50	1
Auditions 3	28 April	11.48	1
Auditions 4	5 May	9.61	1
Auditions 5	12 May	9.55	1
Auditions 6	19 May	9.04	1
Auditions 7	26 May	7.83	4
Semi-final 1	28 May	7.22	12
Semi-final 1 results		6.72	14
Semi-final 2	29 May	7.78	9
Semi-final 2 results		6.12	19
Semi-final 3	30 May	8.12	8
Semi-final 3 results		6.80	13
Semi-final 4	31 May	7.56	11
Semi-final 4 results		6.40	18
Semi-final 5	1 June	7.58	10
Semi-final 5 results		6.63	15
Final	3 June	10.15	1

Criticism

Viewers criticised BGT's twelfth series over two separate matters. The first concerned one of the golden buzzers conducted in the auditions for the twelfth series for singer Lifford Shillingford as being a "fix". Viewers complained on social media that he maintained a close connection to judge Alesha Dixon, who provided the buzzer, and thus had an unfair advantage over other participants. Both Dixon and Shillingford denied the allegations, which focused on comments made by the judge over the singer's performance, clarifying that while they knew each other, it was through their mutual work in the music industry and not from a close friendship.[15][16]

The second concerned the guest performance by the cast members of the musical Magic Mike for the live final. The complaint centered around the suitability of the performance for a "family-based show", including the nature of the performers' routines and the overall tone of the performance. In response, the broadcaster refuted the allegations against the guest performers involvement, making clear that the content had been checked thoroughly to ensure it was suitable for young viewers and had met strict "compliance guidelines".[17]

References

1. "Declan Donnelly to host Britain's Got Talent solo as Ant McPartlin temporarily 'steps down from his TV commitments' – ITV News". itv.com. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
2. "Britain's Got Talent 2018 auditions: Judges' audition dates, venues, tickets". 16 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
3. Rory O'Connor (27 May 2018). "Britain's Got Talent 2018: MAJOR voting twist revealed in live final change". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
4. Frances Taylor (27 May 2018). "Britain's Got Talent reveals brand new voting twist for live shows". RadioTimes.com. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
5. Anna Francis (5 June 2017). "Simon Cowell reveals BIG change he's making to Britain's Got Talent and viewers aren't happy about it". Retrieved 5 June 2017.
6. Vicki Newman (1 June 2018). "All the Britain's Got Talent semi-final shockers and mishaps from technical difficulties to stage invaders and a missing presenter". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
7. "Britain's Got Talent 2018: Who are this year's Golden Buzzer acts?". Metro.co.uk. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
8. Natasha Sporn (2 June 2018). "Britain's Got Talent 2018: Wildcard act revealed as B-Positive Choir complete Sunday's grand final line-up". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
9. Frances Taylor (26 May 2018). "Britain's Got Talent 2018 semi-finalists: all 40 acts who made it through to live shows". RadioTimes.com. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
10. "It's nearly time for the live BGT Semi-Finals! Here's ALL the info you need". ITV.com. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
11. "Britain's Got Talent 2018 voting percentages revealed!". ITV. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
12. Amy Johnson (1 June 2018). "Britain's Got Talent 2018 viewers fume as show hit by ANOTHER technical blunder". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
13. "When is the Britain's Got Talent 2018 final on TV?". Radio Times. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
14. "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
15. Ben Lee (14 May 2018). "Britain's Got Talent star Alesha Dixon responds to Golden Buzzer controversy". DigitalSpy.com. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
16. Josh Darvill (14 May 2018). "Britain's Got Talent 2018: Alesha Dixon responds to golden buzzer controversy". tellymix.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
17. Peter Lloyd (3 June 2018). "Fury after male strippers appear on 'family show' BGT on same line-up as children: 'Feminists only complain when it's women'". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2018.