Britain's Got Talent series 9
Template:Infobox reality talent competition
The ninth series of Britain's Got Talent, a British talent competition series, began broadcasting in the UK during 2015, from 11 April to 31 May on ITV. The series saw the "Wildcard" format introduced in the sixth series being modified in this series to include a "Public Wildcard" – like the "Judges' Wildcard" any act eliminated in the semi-finals, primarily those that lost out in the Judges' vote, could be reinstated by the public, based on the one that received the most votes from them before the final. Although speculations and rumours began to emerge after the previous series ended, claiming that some of the judges would be leaving before the ninth series,[1][2] these were later dismissed as being unfounded by ITV, on 16 January 2015.[3]
The ninth series was won by dog tricks duo Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse, with magician Jamie Raven finishing in second place, and Welsh choir Côr Glanaethwy placing third. During its broadcast, the series averaged around 9.9 million viewers. The ninth series saw the programme have to answer allegations of animal cruelty against a ventriloquist, while the producers caused controversy over the handling of O'Dwyer's performance in the final that Ofcom later ruled to have been misleading following complaints by viewers.[4]
Series overview
Following open auditions held the previous year between October to December,[5] the Judges' auditions took place between January and February 2015, within Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham and London.[6] Unlike previous years, where a guest judge had to stand-in for another, no issues occurred that caused a member of the judging panel to be absent, while the auditions were held in a more standard manner for this year, though with the "Golden Buzzer" format remaining a part of them since its introduction to the show in the previous series.
Of the participants that took part, forty-five made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals – of these acts, dance troupe Boyband, singer Calum Scott, choir Revelation Avenue, dance act Entity Allstars, and comedy singer Lorraine Bowen, each received a golden buzzer during their auditions – with nine appearing in each one. In a minor change to the show's "Wildcard act" format, the series saw the introduction of the "Public Wildcard". Like the "Judges' wildcard", if a semi-finalist was eliminated in their semi-final at the Judges' vote, they became eligible to be picked as a wildcard act by the public, who would vote on which one they would like to reinstate into the final once all the semi-finals had been aired, with their choice being the one to have received the most votes by the time the final was due to be aired. While the Public Wildcard was extreme martial artist Jesse-Jane McParland, who lost out in the tied Judges' vote in the final semi-final, the Judges' Wildcard for this series was dance troupe Boyband, who lost the Judges' vote in the fourth semi-final. As a result, it led to a total of twelve acts taking part in the series' final.
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 |
Public Wildcard Finalist |
Golden Buzzer Audition
Participant | Age(s) 1 | Genre | Act | Semi-final | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alison Jiear | 50 | Singing | Singer | 2 | Eliminated |
Andrew Fleming | 51 | Comedy | Impressionist | 1 | Eliminated |
Beat Brothers | 19–23 | Dance | Tap Dance Group | 5 | Eliminated |
Becky O'Brien | 34 | Singing | Singer | 1 | Eliminated |
Billy and Emily England | 28, 25 | Danger | Extreme Roller Skating Duo | 1 | Eliminated |
Bonetics | 17 | Variety / Dancing | Contortionist Dancer | 2 | Eliminated |
Boyband ![]() ![]() |
17–19 | Dance | Dance Troupe | 4 | Finalist |
Calum Scott ![]() |
26 | Singing | Singer | 5 | Finalist |
Chloe Louise Crawford | 27 | Magic | Illusionist | 5 | Eliminated |
Côr Glanaethwy | 7–65 | Singing | Choir | 1 | Third place |
Danny Posthill | 28 | Comedy | Impressionist | 5 | Finalist |
Dylan Byrd | 17 | Dance | Dancer | 3 | Eliminated |
Ella Shaw | 18 | Singing / Music | Singer & Pianist | 3 | Eliminated |
Emma Jones | 23 | Singing | Opera Singer | 5 | Eliminated |
Entity Allstars ![]() |
10–15 | Dance | Street Dance Troupe | 1 | Finalist |
Gracie Wickens-Sweet | 11 | Singing | Singer | 3 | Eliminated |
Groove Thing | 7–11 | Dance | Dance Troupe | 2 | Eliminated |
Henry Gallagher | 12 | Singing | Singer & Guitarist | 1 | Eliminated |
IMD Legion | 9–17 | Dance | Street Dance Troupe | 3 | Eliminated |
Isaac Waddington | 15 | Singing | Singer & Pianist | 4 | Finalist |
Jamie Raven | 31 | Magic | Close-up Magician | 3 | Runner-up |
Jeffrey Drayton | 73 | Magic | Entertainer | 4 | Eliminated |
Jesse-Jane McParland ![]() |
9 | Danger | Extreme Martial Artist | 5 | Finalist |
Jonathan Lutwyche | 15 | Dance | Contemporary Dancer | 5 | Eliminated |
Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse | 49, 7 2 | Animals | Dog Tricks Act | 2 | Winner |
Lisa Sampson | 35 | Variety | Hula-Hoop Artist | 4 | Eliminated |
Lorraine Bowen ![]() |
53 | Singing / Music | Singer & Keyboardist | 1 | Eliminated |
Luca Calo | 23 | Dance | Dancer | 2 | Eliminated |
Maia Gough | 13 | Singing | Singer | 4 | Eliminated |
Marc Metral | 61 2 | Comedy / Animals | Ventriloquist Dog Act | 4 | Eliminated |
Michael Late | 44 | Magic | Illusionist | 2 | Eliminated |
Misstasia | 22–24 | Singing | Girl Group | 5 | Eliminated |
Mitch & Cally the Wonderdog | 42, 10 3 | Animals / Variety | World Record Attempting Dog Trick Act | 1 | Eliminated |
Narinder Dhani | 43 | Variety / Music | Comb Musician | 3 | Eliminated |
OK Worldwide | 19–28 | Acrobatics | Acrobatic Troupe | 4 | Eliminated |
Old Men Grooving | 40–60 | Dance | Dance Troupe | 2 | Finalist |
Peter Lambert | 32 | Variety | Circus Performer | 5 | Eliminated |
Revelation Avenue ![]() |
20–30 | Singing | Gospel Choir | 2 | Eliminated |
Ruby Red Performers | 25–64 | Dance | Burlesque Dance Troupe | 1 | Eliminated |
The Honeybuns | 22–33 | Singing | Girl Group | 2 | Eliminated |
The Kanneh-Masons | 9–18 | Music / Variety | Classical Band | 4 | Eliminated |
The Kingdom Tenors | 21–31 | Singing | Vocal Harmony Group | 3 | Eliminated |
The Neales | 24–59 | Singing | Vocal Group | 4 | Finalist |
The Sakyi Five | 10–20 | Singing | Boyband | 3 | Eliminated |
UDI | 19-32 | Dance | Electronic Light Dance Troupe | 3 | Finalist |
- ^1 Ages denoted in this column pertain to those of the respective participant(s) for their final performance for this series.
- ^2 The age of the dogs used by Jules O'Dwyer, other than Matisse, and that of the dog used by Marc Metral, were not disclosed during their time on the programme.
- ^3 The latter value denotes the age of the dog, as disclosed by its owner.
Semi-finals summary
Buzzed out |
Judges' vote | Won the public vote
- Won the judges' vote | Lost the judges' vote | Eliminated
Semi-final 1 (25 May)
Guest Performer, Results Show: Ricky Martin ("Mr. Put It Down")
Semi-Finalist | Order | Act | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Finished [7] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | ||||
Entity Allstars | 1 | Street Dance Troupe | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
2nd (Won Judges' vote) | |
Billy and Emily England | 2 | Extreme Roller Skating Duo | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
Mitch & Cally the Wonderdog | 3 | World Record Attempting Dog Trick Act | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
Henry Gallagher | 4 | Singer & Guitarist | ![]() |
3rd (Lost Judges' vote) | |||
Côr Glanaethwy | 5 | Choir | 1st (Won Public vote) | ||||
Ruby Red Performers | 6 | Burlesque Dance Troupe | 9th – Eliminated | ||||
Andrew Fleming | 7 | Impressionist | ![]() |
![]() |
8th – Eliminated | ||
Becky O'Brien | 8 | Singer | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
Lorraine Bowen | 9 | Singer & Keyboardist | ![]() |
4th – Eliminated |
Semi-final 2 (26 May)
Guest Performer, Results Show: Jack Pack ("Light My Fire")
Semi-Finalist | Order | Act | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Finished [7] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | ||||
Groove Thing | 1 | Dance Troupe | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse | 2 | Dog Trick Act | 1st (Won Public vote) | ||||
Bonetics | 3 | Contortionist Dancer | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
Revelation Avenue | 4 | Gospel Choir | ![]() |
![]() |
3rd (Judges' vote tied – Lost on Public vote) | ||
The HoneyBuns | 5 | Vocal Harmony Group | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
Michael Late | 6 | Illusionist | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
Luca Calò | 7 | Dancer | 9th – Eliminated | ||||
Alison Jiear | 8 | Singer | 8th – Eliminated | ||||
Old Men Grooving | 9 | Dance Group | ![]() |
![]() |
2nd (Judges' vote tied – Won on Public vote) |
Semi-final 3 (27 May)
Guest Performer, Results Show: Alesha Dixon ("The Way We Are")
Semi-Finalist | Order | Act | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Finished [7] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | ||||
The Sakyi Five | 1 | Boyband | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
UDI | 2 | Electronic Light Dance Troupe | ![]() |
![]() |
2nd (Judges' vote tied – Won on Public vote) | ||
Dylan Byrd | 3 | Dancer | 8th – Eliminated | ||||
Ella Shaw | 4 | Singer | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
Gracie Wickens-Sweet | 5 | Singer | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
IMD Legion | 6 | Street Dance Troupe | ![]() |
![]() |
3rd (Judges' vote tied – Lost on Public vote) | ||
Narinder Dhani | 7 | Comb Musician | ![]() |
9th – Eliminated | |||
The Kingdom Tenors | 8 | Vocal Harmony Group | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
Jamie Raven | 9 | Close-up Magician | 1st (Won Public vote) |
Semi-final 4 (28 May)
Guest Performer, Results Show: Olly Murs ("Beautiful to Me")
Semi-Finalist | Order | Act | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Finished [7] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | ||||
Ok Worldwide | 1 | Acrobatic Troupe | 9th – Eliminated | ||||
Lisa Sampson | 2 | Hula-Hoop Artist | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
The Kanneh-Masons | 3 | Classical Band | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
The Neales | 4 | Vocal Harmony Group | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
2nd (Won Judges' vote) | |
Maia Gough | 5 | Singer | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
Jeffrey Drayton | 6 | Entertainer | ![]() |
8th – Eliminated | |||
Marc Métral | 7 | Ventriloquist Dog Act | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
Isaac Waddington | 8 | Singer & Pianist | 1st (Won Public vote) | ||||
Boyband 4 | 9 | Dance Group | ![]() |
3rd (Lost Judges' vote) |
- ^4 Boyband were later sent through to the final as the judges' wildcard.
Semi-final 5 (29 May)
Guest performers, Results Show: Collabro ("I Won't Give Up")
Semi-Finalist | Order | Act | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Finished [7] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | ||||
Beat Brothers | 1 | Tap Dance Group | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
Chloe Louise Crawford | 2 | Illusionist | 8th – Eliminated | ||||
Peter Lambert | 3 | Circus Performer | 9th – Eliminated | ||||
Misstasia | 4 | Girl Group | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
Jonathan Lutwyche | 5 | Contemporary Dancer | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
Emma Jones | 6 | Opera Singer | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
Danny Posthill | 7 | Impressionist | ![]() |
![]() |
2nd (Judges' vote tied – Won on Public vote) | ||
Jesse-Jane McParland 5 | 8 | Extreme Martial Artist | ![]() |
![]() |
3rd (Judges' vote tied – Lost on Public vote) | ||
Calum Scott | 9 | Singer | 1st (Won Public vote) |
- ^5 Jesse-Jane McParland was later sent through to the final as the public's wildcard.
Final (31 May)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Andrea Bocelli, and Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance
- Winner | Runner-up | 3rd place
Finalist | Order | Act | Finished [7] |
---|---|---|---|
Entity Allstars | 1 | Street Dance Troupe | 11th |
UDI | 2 | Electronic Light Dancers | 10th |
The Neales | 3 | Vocal Harmony Group | 9th |
Boyband | 4 | Dance Group | 12th |
Jesse-Jane McParland | 5 | Extreme Martial Artist | 8th |
Danny Posthill | 6 | Impressionist | 7th |
Calum Scott | 7 | Singer | 6th |
Côr Glanaethwy | 8 | Choir | 3rd |
Old Men Grooving | 9 | Dance Group | 4th |
Jamie Raven | 10 | Close-up Magician | 2nd |
Isaac Waddington | 11 | Singer And Pianist | 5th |
Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse | 12 | Dog Trick Act | 1st |
Ratings
Episode | Date | Total viewers (millions) [8] | Weekly rank [8] | Share (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Auditions 1 | 11 April | 11.25 | 1 | 43.2 [9] |
Auditions 2 | 18 April | 11.47 | 1 | 44.1 [10] |
Auditions 3 | 25 April | 11.87 | 1 | 46.3 [11] |
Auditions 4 | 2 May | 11.73 | 1 | 45.0 [12] |
Auditions 5 | 9 May | 11.64 | 1 | 45.1 [13] |
Auditions 6 | 16 May | 11.55 | 1 | 47.0 [14] |
Auditions 7 | 23 May | 9.35 | 1 | 35.2 [15] |
Semi-final 1 | 25 May | 10.18 | 3 | 37.8 [16] |
Semi-final 1 results | 7.74 | 15 | 28.7 [16] | |
Semi-final 2 | 26 May | 9.34 | 10 | 36.8 [17] |
Semi-final 2 results | 7.60 | 16 | 31.1 [17] | |
Semi-final 3 | 27 May | 9.48 | 6 | 38.8 [18] |
Semi-final 3 results | 8.09 | 13 | 31.7 [18] | |
Semi-final 4 | 28 May | 9.26 | 11 | 37.2 [19] |
Semi-final 4 results | 7.87 | 12 | 34.5 [19] | |
Semi-final 5 | 29 May | 9.51 | 8 | 39.2 [20] |
Semi-final 5 results | 7.91 | 14 | 32.1 [20] | |
Live final | 31 May | 12.75 | 1 | 46.6 [21] |
Criticism & controversies
Marc Métral ventriloquism act
In April 2015, following the audition of Marc Métral, several animal rights groups raised complaints that his performance, involving the use of a dog, purported to portraying a form of animal cruelty on television.[22] The routine he used involved his dog wearing a specially designed "ventriloquist mask" – a special device used by ventriloquists on human volunteers, in order to make them into special dummy character for their routines - and was conducted in a similar manner to that of a participant on the seventh series of America's Got Talent in 2012. Métral refuted the claims by stating that he cared deeply for the well-being of his dog,[23] while Simon Cowell refuted the claims a month later, owing to his involvement in dog charities, defending the broadcast of the footage on Twitter by explaining that the audition was allowed to be shown because both himself and the production staff had involved the RSPCA to oversee the welfare of Métral's dog before, during, and after his performance.[24]
Misleading dog act
The ninth series became notable for the controversy surrounding the performance of Jules O'Dwyer, and in particular the routine of her dog tricks act in the final. The nature of the complaint focused on the fact that while O'Dwyer had been clear that her occupation involved training and use multiple dogs for her routines, she hadn't disclosed the fact that she had to use two dogs with similar appearances for the final, as her main dog Matisse was unable to perform a trick involving a tightrope section. When this came to light in an interview the morning after the final on 1 July 2015, Ofcom were forced to launch an investigation after 1,000 complaints were raised by viewers who felt misled by the performance's broadcast.[25][26]
Although no formal action was taken by the programme against O'Dwyer and producers, after Cowell launched his own investigation into the incident,[27][28] an apology had to be issued for the confusion caused by the failure not to disclose this detail as clearly as possible.[29][30] However, on 17 August, Ofcom found in their investigation that while there had been no intention to deceive viewers, both the production staff and ITV were responsible for allowing Britain's Got Talent to mislead people, and ruled that they had breached broadcasting codes that require television and radio programmes to not be misleading and present facts as accurately as possible.[31][32][4][33]
References
- ^ Adams, Sam (8 June 2014). "Simon Cowell 'to quit as judge' on Britain's Got Talent". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ "David Walliams leaves fans confused over the future of Britain's Got Talent". Hello. 8 June 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ "Britain's Got Talent – the Judges are back". ITV. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ a b "BGT misled viewers over winning dog act, Ofcom rules". BBC News. 17 August 2015 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Alexander, Susannah (1 October 2014). "Britain's Got Talent announces open auditions for 2015 series". Digital Spy. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ "Where are the Judges Auditions for BGT 2015?". ITV. 15 September 2014. Archived from the original on 17 November 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "BGT 2015: the votes revealed". ITV. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ a b "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- ^ Lee, Ben (12 April 2015). "Britain's Got Talent returns to ITV with 9.5 million viewers". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ Lee, Ben (19 April 2015). "Britain's Got Talent continues with 9.5 million viewers on ITV". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ Lee, Ben (26 April 2015). "Britain's Got Talent rises to nearly 10 million viewers on ITV". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
- ^ Lee, Ben (3 May 2015). "Britain's Got Talent dominates Saturday night with 9.6 million on ITV". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
- ^ Lee, Ben (10 May 2015). "Britain's Got Talent continues with 9.6 million viewers on ITV". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ Lee, Ben (17 May 2015). "UK TV ratings: Atlantis finale averages 2.5 million viewers on BBC One". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ Lee, Ben (24 May 2015). "UK TV ratings: Eurovision 2015 averages 6.6 million on BBC One". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ^ a b Rigby, Sam (26 May 2015). "UK TV ratings: Britain's Got Talent semi-finals kick off with 8.6m on Monday". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ a b Rigby, Sam (27 May 2015). "UK TV ratings: Britain's Got Talent continues to dominate with 7.8m for ITV". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
- ^ a b Rigby, Sam (28 May 2015). "UK TV ratings: Britain's Got Talent rises to 8.2m with third semi-final". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
- ^ a b Rigby, Sam (29 May 2015). "UK TV ratings: Britain's Got Talent wows 7.8m on Thursday for ITV". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ a b Rigby, Sam (30 May 2015). "UK TV ratings: Big Brother: Timebomb eviction twist peaks with 1.36 million". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ Rigby, Sam (1 June 2015). "UK TV ratings: Britain's Got Talent final dominates with 11.4m on Sunday". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Fletcher, Alex (13 April 2015). "Britain's Got Talent: RSPCA investigating Marc Metral's 'talking dog' act". BT.com. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ Jess Denham (14 April 2015). "Britain's Got Talent 2015: RSPCA investigating Marc Metral's miming dog after cruelty complaints". www.independent.co.uk.
- ^ "Simon Cowell defends Britain's Got Talent 'talking' dog act". www.itv.com. 29 May 2015.
- ^ Forrester, Katy; Leyfield, James (1 June 2015). "BGT viewers TRICKED as Jules O'Dwyer reveals a STUNT dog was used instead of Matisse for tight-rope walk". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Lee, Ben (1 June 2015). "Britain's Got Talent winner Matisse the dog didn't actually do that tightrope walk". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ "Simon Cowell orders investigation into Matisse stunt double". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Simon Cowell 'could FIRE producers' over BGT's Jules and Matisse stunt dog con: 'Heads could roll'". Daily Mirror. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Anger after BGT winner Matisse revealed to have used 'stunt dog'". ITV. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "BGT winner 'shocked and surprised' by reaction to dog double". The Guardian. Press Association. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ "Cowell 'Felt Like An Idiot' Over BGT Dog Act". Sky News. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ Plunkett, John (3 June 2015). "Simon Cowell: Britain's Got Talent double dog controversy a 'cock-up'". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ The Ofcom Broadcasting Code - Section Five: Due impartiality and due accuracy