Britain's Got Talent

For the upcoming series, see Britain's Got Talent (series 8).

For Got Talent around the world, see Got Talent.

Britain's Got Talent
File:Britain's Got Talent title card.png
Genre	Reality
Created by	Simon Cowell Ken Warwick Cécile Frot-Coutaz Jason Raff
Directed by	Johnathan Bullen
Presented by	Ant & Dec
Judges	Simon Cowell Amanda Holden David Walliams (2012–) Piers Morgan (2007–10) Kelly Brook (2009) David Hasselhoff (2011) Michael McIntyre (2011) Alesha Dixon (2012–14)
Voices of	Peter Dickson
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	7
No. of episodes	87 (as of 8 June 2013) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Nigel Hall Lee McNicholas Amelia Brown Richard Holloway
Producers	Matt Banks Charlie Irwin Paul Jones
Production locations	Various (auditions) Fountain Studios (live shows)
Running time	60–150 minutes
Production companies	Talkback Thames and Syco (2007–11) Thames and Syco (2012–)
Original release
Network	ITV, STV, UTV TV3 (Ireland)
Release	9 June 2007 (2007-06-09) – present
Related
Britain's Got More Talent The X Factor Red or Black?

Britain's Got Talent (often shortened to BGT) is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent franchise. The show is a Thames production (formerly Talkback Thames) distributed by FremantleMedia and is produced in association with Syco TV. The show is broadcast on ITV and its sister show Britain's Got More Talent is broadcast on ITV2. Anyone of any age with some sort of talent can audition for the show. Acts compete against each other in order to gain the audience support while trying to win the title of "The winner of Britain's Got Talent". Each year, on the morning of the first show of the new series, Britain's Got Talent has a special programme titled "Most Talented", featuring interviews of the winners from the previous series and their progress since winning.

Throughout the show, contestants must perform in front of the judges, and each year initial auditions have been held in front of a live audience. Auditions precede live shows, where the final 45 contestants (6 in series 1, 40 from series 2–5) perform nightly for a week in order to impress the British and Irish public. There have been seven winners to date: Paul Potts, George Sampson, Diversity, Spelbound, Jai McDowall, Ashleigh and Pudsey and Attraction. The winner of each series is given the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in front of members of the British Royal Family, including Queen Elizabeth II. The winner also receives a cash prize, which from series 1-5 was £100,000, but was increased to £500,000 in series 6 and then lowered to £250,000 in series 7.

Britain's Got Talent is known as one of Britain's biggest television talent competitions and has also proven popular throughout Europe. The series 3 live final brought in 17.3 million viewers, (a 64.6% audience share). On 15 November 2013, it was announced that a new deal had been signed to keep Britain's Got Talent on air until 2016.

The original judging panel consisted of the show's creator Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan. Kelly Brook was brought in as a fourth judge in series 3, but was later axed after only one audition site. In series 5, Morgan left and Cowell was only present during the live shows, while David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre joined the panel. Cowell returned as a full-time judge in series 6, while Alesha Dixon and David Walliams joined the panel as replacements for McIntyre and Hasselhoff.

History

The show's format was devised by The X Factor creator and Sony Music executive Simon Cowell, who has created many Got Talent series across the globe. A pilot episode was filmed in September 2005, with the judging panel consisting of Cowell, then-This Morning presenter Fern Britton, and tabloid journalist Piers Morgan. It was originally planned that the show would be broadcast in 2006 and presented by Paul O'Grady (who had become popular thanks to his teatime chat show, The Paul O'Grady Show) with the title Paul O'Grady's Got Talent. However, after defection to Channel 4 for The Paul O'Grady Show, he refused to appear on another ITV show, so the show was put on hold. The pilot remained unbroadcast on television until it was shown during The Talent Show Story in January 2012. In a 2010 interview, O'Grady said, "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, it was announced that the show would air in June 2007 with Cowell, Morgan (who had also judged America's Got Talent) and actress Amanda Holden as judges. Ant & Dec were announced as presenters, with Stephen Mulhern as the presenter of ITV2 spin-off series Britain's Got More Talent.

Format

See also: List of Britain's Got Talent episodes and List of Britain's Got Talent finalists

Auditions

The auditions take place in front of the judges and a live audience at different cities across the UK. Unlike on The X Factor, at any time during the audition, the judges may show disapproval to the act by pressing a buzzer which lights a large red "X" on the stage, indicating that they particularly dislike the act and do not wish the performance to continue. If all the judges press their buzzers, the act must end immediately. From series 1 to 5, it was three buzzers due to the show having three judges, but from series 6 onwards it is four buzzers due to the show having four judges. From series 1 to 5, (with the sole exception of the Manchester auditions in series 3, since there were four judges), voting worked on a majority-of-two basis where two positive votes were required. From series 6 onwards, voting works on a majority-of-three basis as there are four judges. The judging panel give an act a "Yes" if they like them and would like them to return in a subsequent episode, and a "No" if they dislike the act and do not wish to see them again.

Callbacks

After the auditions, the judges have to whittle almost 200 successful acts down to just 24 (series 1), 40 (series 2 to series 5) or 45 (Series 6 and 7.) All of the performers are called back to discover if they have progressed to the live semi-finals. During series 5, some of the acts were asked to perform again to try to get through to the semi-finals as the judges were having difficulty coming to a final decision on whom to send through to the semi-finals. This was the first time this had ever happened in the history of the show.

Semi-finals

The semi-finals and final are broadcast live from The Fountain Studios in Wembley (which is also used for The X Factor), with a varying number of semi-finals, followed by the one live final (sometimes split into two episodes over one night). The remaining 40-45 acts perform in semi-finals, with the two most popular acts from each semi-final winning a position in the final. Judges may still end a performance early with three Xs from series 1 to 4, and four Xs from series 5 onward. The judges are again asked to express their imagination for the audience's amusement. After all acts have performed, phone lines open for a short time, while the public vote for the act they think was the best. After the votes have been counted, the act that has polled the highest number of public votes is automatically placed in the final. The judges then choose between the second and third most popular acts, with the winner of that vote also gaining a place in the final. All other acts are then eliminated from the competition. From series 5, the rules relating to judges' votes in the results show changed from previous series. In the past, the decision as to which act was sent through to the finals was made by the three judges (from which there would always be a majority). Now that there are four judges, if there is a two-way tie, then, just like The X Factor, the act with the second highest number of votes from the public would be sent through to the finals, otherwise the judges' decision stands.

The show's secondary theme song is a full orchestral version of "Lux Aeterna" by Clint Mansell (produced for the theatrical trailer of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, but originally written for the film Requiem for a Dream), which is used to create tension. It is also used for the judges' arrival at the beginning of every live show.

Wildcard

In series 6, a wildcard element was introduced. This is where judges pick an eliminated act from the semi-finals, and that act is sent through to the final. In series 6, the wildcard act selected was The Mend. In series 7, the wildcard was Steve Hewlett.

Series overview

To date, eigth series have been broadcast, as summarised below.

Series	Premiere	Finale	Winner	Runner-up	Third place	Host(s)	Judging panel	Guest judge(s)
One	9 June 2007	17 June 2007	Paul Potts	Damon Scott	Connie Talbot	Ant & Dec	Simon Cowell Amanda Holden Piers Morgan	—
Two	12 April 2008	31 May 2008	George Sampson	Signature	Andrew Johnston
Three	11 April 2009	30 May 2009	Diversity	Susan Boyle	Julian Smith			Kelly Brook1
Four	17 April 2010	5 June 2010	Spelbound	Twist and Pulse	Kieran Gaffney			Louis Walsh2
Five	16 April 2011	4 June 2011	Jai McDowall	Ronan Parke	New Bounce		Simon Cowell3 Amanda Holden David Hasselhoff Michael McIntyre
Six	24 March 2012	12 May 2012	Ashleigh and Pudsey	Jonathan and Charlotte	Only Boys Aloud		Simon Cowell Amanda Holden Alesha Dixon David Walliams	Carmen Electra4
Seven	13 April 2013	8 June 2013	Attraction	Jack Carroll	Richard & Adam			—
Eight	12 April 2014	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA			Ant & Dec5

Notes

1. ^ Brook was a guest fourth judge for the Manchester auditions; was originally planned to be permanent judge.
2. ^ Walsh served as a guest judge for Birmingham auditions (substituting for Cowell) in series 4 and for the London auditions (substituting for Hasselhoff) in series 5.
3. ^ Cowell only served as a judge during the live shows.
4. ^ Electra served as a guest judge for the London auditions (substituting for Holden) in series 6.
5. ^ Ant & Dec served as a guest judge for the Manchester auditions (substituting for Cowell) in series 8.

Series 1 (2007)

Main article: Britain's Got Talent (series 1)

The first series of Britain's Got Talent began on 9 June 2007 and ended on 17 June. The judges were Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell. The show was hosted by Ant & Dec on ITV, whilst Stephen Mulhern presented sister show Britain's Got More Talent on ITV2.

During January and February 2007, applicants auditioned in Manchester, Birmingham, London and Cardiff. The first five shows covered the audition stages and the final three shows were the live semi-finals and final. Altogether, 24 acts performed in the semi-finals, eight acts in each episode, with a further two acts disqualified from the competition before the semi-finals were broadcast. The series was eventually won by opera singer Paul Potts, second was puppeteer Damon Scott with child singer Connie Talbot in third place.

Series 2 (2008)

Main article: Britain's Got Talent (series 2)

The second series of Britain's Got Talent included notable differences from the first series, including the fact that the auditions visited Scotland and that there were 40 in the live semi-finals. The series also ran for longer, this time lasting for seven weeks instead of one. Morgan, Holden and Cowell returned as judges. Ant & Dec returned to present the main show and Mulhern returned to present Britain's Got More Talent. The series was won by street-dancer George Sampson, with dual dance group Signature coming in second and singer Andrew Johnston third. Other acts in the final included martial arts duo Strike, dance troupe Nemesis, 12-year-old mezzo-soprano Faryl Smith, Hip Hop Dance Group Flava, and canine freestyle team Kate and Gin.

Series 3 (2009)

Main article: Britain's Got Talent (series 3)

Britain's Got Talent returned for its third series on 11 April 2009. Ant & Dec continued as hosts and Mulhern returned to host Britain's Got More Talent. The 2009 judges were Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan. Kelly Brook was originally announced as a new fourth judge, reportedly being offered £200,000 for the role, but was fired after just six days, having acted as a judge at the Manchester auditions only. According to Cowell, the reason given for sacking Brook was because the producers decided the format was "too complicated" with four judges, while insiders maintain neither Ant nor Dec warmed up to the idea of bringing on a judge without their consent. Ant published in his autobiography that the reason the pair didn't like Brook was that on the first day she asked what Ant & Dec would be doing on the show, which they took as a sign that she had not watched the show before. According to interviews, Brook maintains that she was simply asking what they were going to do on that day, as in, "so what's on the agenda today". Either way, the show decided to simplify and just go with three judges.

The live semi-finals ran from 24–29 May (there was no semi-final on 27 May due to the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final being played that night) and the live final on 30 May. Contestant Emma Czikai, who was rejected during the fifth audition show, was said to have "complained to the media regulator Ofcom and lodged a complaint of unfairness and discrimination with the employment tribunal." The series' most notable performance was the audition of 47-year-old Scottish woman Susan Boyle, who sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables. The performance earned a unanimous "yes" vote and resounding astonishment from the judges. Her performance helped lift the show to a launch record of 11.2 million viewers. Within five days of her initial appearance, YouTube recordings of the event had collectively generated more than 100 million views. Boyle also attracted widespread international media coverage. The other finalists were Aidan Davis, Stavros Flatley, Flawless, Hollie Steel, Diversity, Shaun Smith, Shaheen Jafargholi, 2 Grand and Julian Smith. In a shock result, Diversity were announced as the winners, with Boyle as runner-up and Julian Smith in third. Bookmakers made a fortune because of the unexpected result. "We are in shock and have made a six-figure sum in what has been the biggest surprise in reality TV history. Susan was a certainty," said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams. William Hill estimate that over £3m was bet on the show in the final hour.

Series 4 (2010)

Main article: Britain's Got Talent (series 4)

The 2010 panel of judges remained unchanged, with Cowell, Holden and Morgan all returning for the start of the televised auditions on 18 January at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow, although Cowell said that this was his last year doing the auditions. Auditions were then held in Manchester at the Manchester Opera House, Cardiff's Wales Millennium Centre. The Journal Tyne Theatre in Newcastle, Birmingham's Birmingham Hippodrome and ended on 10 February at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. Due to illness, Simon was unable to attend the filming of the Birmingham auditions and Louis Walsh stood in for him at the last minute, the first time that Cowell has missed an audition show in his entire career. The first programme of Series 4 was broadcast on 17 April 2010. Spelbound won the final on 5 June 2010, with Twist and Pulse as runners-up and Kieran Gaffney placing third. The other finalists were Paul Burling, Tobias Mead, Christopher Stone, Tina and Chandi, Connected, Janey Cutler and Liam McNally.

Series 5 (2011)

Main article: Britain's Got Talent (series 5)

Britain's Got Talent returned for its fifth series on 16 April 2011. Auditions took place in January 2011 in Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, London and, for the first time, Liverpool. Ant & Dec continued as main hosts on ITV, while Mulhern again hosted Britain's Got More Talent on ITV2. Among the judges, Piers Morgan left the show due to him hosting his new show Piers Morgan Tonight in America. Cowell was only present for the live shows only as during the auditions he was busy launching The X Factor USA. Amanda Holden returned to the regular judging panel, joined by David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre, Louis Walsh also appeared as a guest judge in the London auditions while Hasselhoff was appearing in pantomime. The winner was Jai McDowall, while Ronan Parke finished as runner-up and New Bounce in third, and Michael Collings in fifth place.

Series 6 (2012)

Main article: Britain's Got Talent (series 6)

ITV confirmed in June 2011 that Britain's Got Talent would be returning for a sixth series in 2012. In October 2011, it was announced that Hasselhoff and McIntyre would not be returning to the judging panel. Despite rumours of Holden being absent for the auditions stage, she confirmed via her Twitter account that she would be participating in the entire series. In December 2011, it was announced that Cowell would be returning as a full-time judge for the series. On 2 January, David Walliams and Alesha Dixon were confirmed as judges, with Dixon leaving her role on Strictly Come Dancing. Holden missed some of the auditions due to her pregnancy and due to being critically ill after giving birth.

The sixth series hosted a wide range of talent. The series was won by Ashleigh and Pudsey, a girl and her dancing dog. Opera duo Jonathan and Charlotte came second and Welsh boys choir Only Boys Aloud took the third place. Ashleigh and Pudsey received £500,000 as a prize for their win. On Britain's Got More Talent after the final, Cowell announced that he would like Walliams, Dixon and Holden to return to the panel next year alongside himself.

Series 7 (2013)

Main article: Britain's Got Talent (series 7)

ITV confirmed on 12 May 2012 that series 7 would air in 2013. The judges would remain as David Walliams, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Simon Cowell. Ant & Dec would remain as hosts for the main show and Stephen Mulhern will also return to ITV2. On 16 January 2013, the live judges audition tour started in Cardiff and ended in Birmingham. The series first aired on ITV on 13 April 2013. The series was won by Attraction, with Jack Carroll finishing second and Richard & Adam coming third.

Series 8 (2014)

Main article: Britain's Got Talent (series 8)

Cowell confirmed on 1 June 2013 that series 8 would air in 2014. He will return to the judging panel alongside Holden, Dixon and Walliams. Ant and Dec were guest judges on this series in Manchester substituting for Simon Cowell. This series saw a new golden buzzer, in which each judge could press it once and only once for the entire show. Pressing the buzzer would immediately send the act through to the semi-finals, regardless of the other judges' opinions. Holden pressed her buzzer in the Birmingham auditions, Cowell pressed his in Manchester, Walliams pressed his in the London auditions and Dixon finally pressed her buzzer on the second day of London auditions.

Presenters and judges

Kelly Brook was a judge for a short time during the third series

Since series 1, the show has been presented by English comedy and TV presenting duo Ant & Dec. After being successful with Saturday Night Takeaway which aired six series before the premiere of Britain's Got Talent.

Series 1 and 2 consisted of original judges, music executive and television producer Simon Cowell, television and West End star Amanda Holden, and newspaper editor and journalist Piers Morgan. As series 3 started, it was announced that the show would have a fourth judge, actress and glamour model Kelly Brook. However, after less than a week of filming, it was announced that Kelly had been dropped as the producers believed that the format would be "too complicated" with four judges; Brook was later credited as a guest judge. Series 4 would remain with just Cowell, Holden and Morgan as judges. Cowell fell ill at one point and was unable to attend the Birmingham auditions, so fellow The X Factor judge Louis Walsh stepped in for him.

Morgan revealed that he would not return as a judge for the fifth series as he was preparing to take over the highly popular Larry King Live talk show on CNN in America. Cowell also announced he would not be present during the auditions, as he would be busy launching The X Factor USA; however he confirmed he would be present for the live shows. It was revealed that comedian Michael McIntyre would be completing the judging panel, as would actor, singer and former America's Got Talent judge David Hasselhoff. Hasselhoff was absent during the London auditions due to his commitments with a pantomime and Walsh returned as a guest judge. For the live shows, Hasselhoff and McIntyre remained as judges, with Cowell becoming a fourth judge.

In October 2011, it was announced that neither Hasselhoff nor McIntyre would be returning as a judge for the sixth series, while Cowell returned full-time. On 2 January 2012, it was announced that Alesha Dixon and David Walliams would replace Hasselhoff and McIntyre for the sixth series. Holden missed some of the auditions due to her giving birth to her daughter, and some after-effects. On 6 February 2012, actress and model Carmen Electra was announced as Holden's replacement for the London auditions. Series 7 remained with Cowell, Holden, Dixon and Walliams on the judging panel. It was announced that all judges from series 6 and 7 would return for series 8.

Britain's Got More Talent

Britain's Got Talent
Created by	Simon Cowell
Presented by	Stephen Mulhern
No. of series	7
Production
Producer	Tim Dean
Production location	The Fountain Studios
Running time	60 minutes
Original release
Network	ITV2 (UK) TV3 (Ireland)
Related
Britain's Got Talent The X Factor The Xtra Factor

Britain's Got More Talent is a companion show which is broadcast on ITV2 and on TV3 in Ireland, after the main ITV and TV3 Britain's Got Talent broadcast, similar to The X Factor's ITV2 companion show The Xtra Factor. It features behind-the-scenes footage of Britain's Got Talent and shows the emotional responses of the contestants after the judges comment on their performances.

Britain's Got More Talent is hosted by Stephen Mulhern and has been from the first series. Mulhern was also host of the Britain's Got Talent: Live Tour in 2008 and 2009, but Paddy McGuinness took up the position in 2010.

Each year, after the series has come to an end, Britain's Got More Talent has a week of special programmes entitled Britain's Got Talent: Best and Worst, featuring the best and worst auditions from the series, ranging from two to five episodes each year. This series is also hosted by Mulhern, though the series may feature clips of Ant & Dec interviewing the acts beforehand. In 2012 ITV2 had special programmes showing the Best and Worst Auditions EVER these shows were named 'All Stars, 'Kids and Pets Unleashed', All Singing All Dancing' and 'Funniest Moments'

Reception

Awards and nominations

Britain's Got Talent has been nominated for two National Television Awards in the category of 'Most Popular Talent Show' in 2007 and 2008, losing to its sister show The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing respectively. Ant and Dec have won the award for 'Most Popular Entertainment Presenters' at the same awards in 2007 and 2008. It 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. It was further nominated in the Reality Show category, but lost 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		Nominated
		Most Popular Entertainment Presenter	Ant & Dec	Won
	Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards	Best Reality Show		Nominated
		Best TV Presenters	Ant & Dec	Won
	TV Quick and Choice Awards	Best Talent Show		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		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		Won
		Best TV Baddie	Simon Cowell	Won
2009	TV Quick and Choice Awards	Best Talent Show		Nominated
	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		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	National Television Awards	Most Popular Talent Show		Nominated

Controversy and criticism

In series 1, Britain's Got Talent was criticised for not travelling to enough towns and cities in Britain, particularly for not visiting Scotland. Extra audition dates were added in series 2, and the judges visited Scotland.

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?"

The treatment of contestants at the audition stage was heavily criticised by the Daily Mail, which described applicants being kept waiting for over 10 hours with no food or drink provided, with no certainty of being allowed to perform more than a few seconds of their act. It also detailed how staff intentionally built up the hopes of low-quality performers in order to maximise the dramatic effect of the judges' put-downs, and the fine points of the contracts performers must sign, which gives the show infinite freedom to "modify" the footage for their own purposes, and to use the footage indefinitely for whatever purpose they choose.

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" and "it's a churn 'em out fast food form of putrid shit that I have no affiliation with".

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."

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.

Live tour

On 17 April 2008, a thirteen date live tour was announced visiting the UK's major cities during the month of June, featuring the semi-finalists, the finalists and the winner from series two, along with a few surprises. Stephen Mulhern hosted the tour, which began on 6 June. None of the judging panel were present, and there was no live voting. After high demand for tickets, the tour was later extended to twenty two performances, including matinées. The tour featured all ten finalists, as well as semi-finalists Tracey Lee Collins and Anya Sparks. The tour also featured a duet with Faryl Smith and Andrew Johnston.

On 13 January 2009, a four date tour was announced with dates in Newcastle, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester. More dates were later added and the tour ran for eighteen shows from 12–26 June 2009 and also travelled to Dublin, Birmingham, Belfast, Sheffield, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Nottingham, London, Aberdeen and Bournemouth.

The tour in 2009 included: 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. Stephen Mulhern hosted the tour.

The tour returned in 2010, this time hosted by comedian Paddy McGuinness. The show also added a new city to the schedule, Brighton. The tour included all the finalists: Spelbound, Twist & Pulse, Kieran Gaffney, Tobias Mead, Tina & Chandi, Paul Burling, Christopher Stone, Janey Cutler, Liam McNally and Connected. The tour lasted from 19 June – 11 July. With 16 cites and 23 shows, it was the longest Britains Got Talent Tour to date.

The tour in 2011 included all the finalists: Jai McDowall, Ronan Parke, New Bounce, Razy Gogonea, Michael Collings, Paul Gbegbaje, Steven Hall, James Hobley, Les Gibson and Jean Martyn.

In 2012, due to very low ticket sales the Britain's Got Talent tour was axed.

Best-selling albums

These albums were sold after Britain's Got Talent. The sales numbers are UK sales only.

Artists with BPI certified albums

	Former contestant Total sales	Debut album	Second album	Third album	Fourth album
1	Susan Boyle (Series 3, Runner-up) 2,340,000	I Dreamed a Dream (23 November 2009) Syco/Columbia 3x Platinum 2,100,000 Peak: 1	The Gift (8 November 2010) Syco/Columbia Gold 500,000 Peak: 1	Someone to Watch Over Me (1 November 2011) Syco/Columbia Peak: 1
2	Paul Potts (Series 1, Winner) 680,000	One Chance (16 July 2007) Syco/Columbia 2x Platinum 680,000 Peak: 1	Passione (1 June 2009) Syco/Columbia n/a n/a Peak: 5	Cinema Paradiso (15 October 2010) Sony n/a n/a Peak: did not chart
3	Andrew Johnston (Series 2, 3rd place) 120,000	One Voice (29 September 2008) Syco Gold 120,000 Peak: 4
4	Connie Talbot (Series 1, runner-up) 100,000+	Over the Rainbow (26 November 2007) Rainbow Recording Company Gold 100,000 Peak: 35	Connie Talbot's Christmas Album (24 November 2008) Rainbow Recording Company n/a n/a Peak: 93	Holiday Magic (20 October 2009) AAO Music n/a n/a Peak: did not chart	Beautiful World (26 November 2012) Evosound n/a n/a Peak: did not chart in the UK
5	Escala (Series 2, 4th place) 100,000	Escala (25 May 2009) Sony BMG/Syco Gold 100,000 Peak: 2

Artists without BPI certified albums

	Former contestant	Total sales	Albums
6	Faryl Smith (Series 2, 5th place)	150,000	Faryl (2009) Number 4 Wonderland (2009) Number 56
7	Charlie Green (Series 2, Semi-finalist)		Charlie Green (2008) did not chart

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)

BGT App

In April 2013, ITV launched a Britain's Got Talent app, available to buy on the app store. The app features the latest news from the show as well as a 'Bling Your Buzzer' feature. There are 15 buzzers to download these are:

• Classic Red
• The GOLD
• The UNION JACK
• The SIMON
• The AMANDA
• The ALESHA
• The DAVID
• The LOVE
• The FROG
• The VINYL
• The PANIC
• The BOMB
• The COW
• The GONG
• The FOOTBALL

External links

• 'Britain's Got Talent' at itv.com
• 'Britain's Got Talent' at stv.tv
• Template:U.tv

• Britain's Got Talent on X
• Britain's Got Talent at IMDb