Britain's Got Talent series 13

Series Thirteen of Britain's Got Talent, a British talent competition series, began broadcasting in the UK during 2019, from 6 April to 2 June on ITV. This series became the first to see the return of Anthony McPartlin to his television duties, hosting alongside Declan Donnelly (colloquially forming the hosting duo known as Ant & Dec), following his absence the previous year to attend rehab prior to the start of the previous series' live episodes. Alongside McPartlin's return, this series saw the oldest participant on the contest to win the final, the withdrawal of an act from the contest despite securing a place in the semi-finals, and the surprise return of a performer who participated in a previous year's contest, operating under an alias until their final appearance.

The thirteenth series was won by 89-year-old singer Colin Thackery, with mentalist Marc Spelmann (under the stage name "X") finishing in second place and magician Ben Hart in third place. During its broadcast, the series averaged 8.32 million viewers.

Series overview

The judges auditions took place between January and February 2019, within London and Manchester. During filming of the London auditions, the event was kick-started by a special performance from Susan Boyle to mark her tenth year as a singer since she first made her appearance on Britain's Got Talent's third series. One of the most notable auditionees for this year's contest was David Watson - a participant who had auditioned for ten years for a place on the programme without success. His latest attempt led to the host of Britain's Got More Talent, Stephen Mulhern, triggering a Golden Buzzer for him. This action led to speculation in the media over whether this had been officially allowed, but it was later revealed to have been disallowed on the grounds that it did not fall under the contest rules, as Mulhern had no official allowance to provide a Golden Buzzer act.

This series featured two notable events during its broadcast. The first to take place was the forced withdrawal of an act - extreme magicians Brotherhood - who had secured a spot in the semi-finals. Despite Brotherhood's success in the auditions landing them a place in the fifth and final semi-final, concerns over health and safety were raised about the dangerous nature of their performance, leading to the group of magicians withdrawing their involvement at the request of the production staff and broadcaster, and their place being offered to another act which had been eliminated during auditions. The second was the surprise revelation that a participant who had operated under anonymity, was in reality a former semi-finalist from a previous year's contest who had re-entered the contest for this year in order to emphasis the values of hope and perseverance.

Of the participants that took part, only 40 made it into the five live semi-finals - of these acts, dancer Akshat Singh, band Chapter 13, choir Flakefleet Primary School, singer Giorgia Borg, and stand-up comedian Kojo Anim, 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 dance duo Libby & Charlie, after they lost out in a tied judges' vote in the last semi-final round. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:

  Winner |   Runner-up |   Third place

  Finalist |   Semi-finalist (lost judges' vote) |   Semi-finalist (eliminated)

	Judges' wildcard (previously eliminated act reinstated into the final by the judges)
	Golden buzzer

Participant	Age(s)	Genre	Act	From	Semi-final	Result
4MG	17-19	Magic	Close-up Magicians	Suffolk	2	Finalist (Won Public Vote)
Akshat Singh	13	Dance	Dancer	Mumbai, India	1	Eliminated
Angels Inc.	23-28	Magic	Illusionists	The Netherlands	3	Eliminated
Barbara Nice	68	Comedy	Stand-up Comedian	Greater Manchester	5	Eliminated
Ben Hart	28	Magic	Magician	London	4	Third Place
Brian Gilligan	32	Singing	Singer	Dublin, Ireland	1	Eliminated
Chapter 13	14–15	Singing / Music	Band	London	3	Eliminated
Colin Thackery	89	Singing	War Veteran Singer	Norwich, Norfolk	3	Winner
Dave & Finn	42 & 9	Magic / Animals	Dog Handler & Mentalist	Buntingford, Hertfordshire	1	Finalist (Won Public Vote)
Duo A&J	28 & 26	Acrobatics	Aerialist Duo	Ukraine / Coventry	4	Eliminated
Fabulous Sisters 1	12-26	Dance	Dance Group	Japan	5	Eliminated
Faith Tucker	18	Singing	Opera Singer	Nottingham	2	Eliminated
Flakefleet Primary School	4-11	Singing	Choir	Lancashire	1	Finalist (Won Judges' Vote)
Giorgia Borg	10	Singing	Singer	Malta	2	Eliminated
Gomonov Knife Show	25 & 36	Danger	Knife-Throwing Duo	Belarus	3	Eliminated
Gonzo	33	Music	Tambourinist	Japan	5	Eliminated
Graeme Mathews	34	Comedy / Magic	Comic Magician	Essex	4	Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote)
Jacob Jones	27	Singing	Singer	Surrey	5	Eliminated
Jimmy Tamley	64	Comedy	Ventriloquist	Devon	4	Eliminated
John Archer	58	Comedy / Magic	Comic Magician	Teesside	3	Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote)
Jonathan Goodwin	39	Danger	Escape Artist	South Wales	5	Finalist (Won Judges' Vote)
Kerr James	12	Singing	Singer	Glasgow	4	Eliminated
Khronos Girls	15-18	Dance	Dance Group	Croydon	1	Eliminated
KNE	22-35	Dance	Dance Group	London	3	Eliminated
Kojo Anim	39	Comedy	Stand-up Comedian	London (originally Ghana)	3	Finalist (Won Judges' Vote)
Leanne Mya	31	Singing	Singer	London	5	Eliminated
Libby & Charlie 2	11 & 11	Dance	Dance Duo	Manchester / Liverpool	5	Finalist (Won Judges' Wildcard)
Lil' Icons 3	7-18	Dance	Dance Group	Port Talbot	4	Eliminated
Mark McMullan	23	Singing	Opera Singer	Northern Ireland	4	Finalist (Won Judges' Vote)
Matt Stirling	46	Magic	Stunt Magician	London	2	Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote)
Rob King	28	Singing	Musical Theatre Singer	Manchester	3	Eliminated
Rosie & Adam 3	21 & 38	Danger / Dance	Extreme Rollerskating Duo	Blackpool	1	Eliminated
Siobhan Phillips	42	Comedy / Music / Singing	Comic Pianist & Singer	Wakefield	2	Finalist (Won Judges' Vote)
State of the Fart 3	26	Comedy / Music / Variety	"Flatulence" Musician	Israel	2	Eliminated
The Haunting 3	N/A 4	Magic	Horror-themed Magician	N/A 4	1	Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote)
"The Queen"	61 5	Comedy	"Queen" Look-alike Drag Comedian	Australia	2	Eliminated
Tony Rudd	58	Comedy	Impressionist	Bournemouth	1	Eliminated
Ursula Burns	48	Comedy / Music / Singing	Comic Harpist & Singer	Belfast	4	Eliminated
Vardanyan Brothers 1	28 & 30	Danger	Hand Balancing Duo	Armenia	2	Eliminated
X (Marc Spelmann) 6	47	Magic	Mentalist	London	5	Runner-up

• ^1 These participants each required their coach to act as translator, due to their limited/lack of knowledge on the English language.
• ^2 Libby & Charlie were brought in as a replacement for another act that, although having secured a spot in the semi-finals, had to withdraw due to health and safety concerns from the production staff and broadcaster.
• ^3 These acts originally auditioned under different names, before changing them for their Semi-Final appearances.
• ^4 Because The Haunting consisted of more than one performer, information on each respective member's age and hometown were not disclosed on the programme.
• ^5 The participant's actual age was not disclosed on the programme; as a joke to reference the character they portrayed, they were slated as "92" when they auditioned.
• ^6 Details on this participant were not disclosed by production staff throughout the series, until after their live final performance, due to them operating under a veil of anonymity.

Semi-finals summary

Buzzed out

Judges' vote

  Won the public vote |   Won the judges' vote; won by public vote in the event of a tie

  Lost the judges' vote; lost by public vote in the event of a tie |   Eliminated

Semi-final 1 (27 May)

• Guest performers: The Cast Of On Your Feet! & Gloria Estefan. ("Rhythm Is Gonna Get You"/"Conga"/"Turn the Beat Around"/"Get on Your Feet"/"Everlasting Love")

Semi-Finalist	Order	Act	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished
			Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Walliams
Akshat Singh	1	Dancer					7th - Eliminated
Tony Rudd	2	Impressionist					6th - Eliminated
Brian Gilligan	3	Singer					8th - Eliminated
The Haunting	4	Horror-themed Magician					3rd (Lost Judges' Vote)
Flakefleet Primary School	5	Choir					2nd (Won Judges' Vote)
Khronos Girls	6	Dance Group					5th - Eliminated
Dave & Finn	7	Dog Handler & Mentalist					1st (Won Public Vote)
Rosie & Adam	8	Extreme Rollerskating Duo					4th - Eliminated

Semi-final 2 (28 May)

• Guest performer: The Cast of Six ("Ex Wives/Six").

Semi-Finalist	Order	Act	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished
			Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Walliams
The Queen	1	"Queen" Look-alike Drag Comedian	7				8th - Eliminated
State of the Fart	2	"Flatulence" Musician					7th - Eliminated
Vardanyan Brothers	3	Hand Balancing Duo					6th - Eliminated
Giorgia Borg	4	Singer					5th - Eliminated
Matt Stirling	5	Stunt Magician					3rd (Lost Judges' Vote)
Siobhan Phillips	6	Comic Pianist & Singer					2nd (Won Judges' Vote)
4MG	7	Close-up Magicians					1st (Won Public Vote)
Faith Tucker	8	Opera Singer					4th - Eliminated

• ^7 Cowell used his buzzer during this participant's performance; although removed, the intention was unclear on its usage.

Semi-final 3 (29 May)

• Guest performer: James Arthur and Freckled Sky ("Falling Like the Stars").

Semi-Finalist	Order	Act	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished
			Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Walliams
Angels Inc.	1	Illusionists					5th - Eliminated
Rob King	2	Musical Theatre Singer					6th - Eliminated
KNE	3	Dance Group					8th - Eliminated
John Archer	4	Comic Magician				8	3rd (Lost Judges' Vote)
Gomonov Knife Show	5	Knife-Throwing Duo					7th - Eliminated
Colin Thackery	6	War Veteran Singer					1st (Won Public Vote)
Kojo Anim	7	Stand-up Comedian				8	2nd (Won Judges' Vote)
Chapter 13	8	Band					4th - Eliminated

• ^8 Due to the majority vote for Kojo Anim, Walliams' voting intention was not revealed.

Semi-final 4 (30 May)

• Guest performer: BTS ("Boy with Luv").

Semi-Finalist	Order	Act	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished
			Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Walliams
Lil' Icons	1	Dance Group					5th - Eliminated
Ursula Burns	2	Comic Harpist & Singer					8th - Eliminated
Kerr James	3	Singer					4th - Eliminated
Graeme Mathews	4	Comic Magician					3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote)
Duo A&J	5	Aerialist Duo					6th - Eliminated
Jimmy Tamley	6	Ventriloquist					7th - Eliminated
Ben Hart	7	Magician					1st (Won Public Vote)
Mark McMullan	8	Opera Singer					2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote)

Semi-final 5 (31 May)

• Guest performer: Jason Donovan, Sheridan Smith & The Cast Of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ("Jacob and Sons"/"Any Dream Will Do"/"Song Of The King"/"Go, Go, Go Joseph")

Semi-Finalist	Order	Act	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished
			Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Walliams
Gonzo	1	Tambourinist					6th - Eliminated
X (Marc Spelmann)	2	Mentalist					1st (Won Public Vote)
Jacob Jones	3	Singer					7th - Eliminated
Fabulous Sisters	4	Dance Group					8th - Eliminated
Leanne Mya	5	Singer					5th - Eliminated
Barbara Nice	6	Stand-up Comedian					4th - Eliminated
Libby & Charlie9	7	Dance Duo					3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote)
Jonathan Goodwin	8	Escape Artist					2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote)

• ^9 Libby & Charlie were later sent through to the final as the judges' wildcard.

Final (2 June)

• Guest performers: Diversity & DVJ; Susan Boyle & Michael Ball ("A Million Dreams").

  Winner |   Runner-up |   3rd place

Finalist	Order	Act	Finished
Dave & Finn	1	Dog Handler & Mentalist	5th
Flakefleet Primary School	2	Choir	6th
Ben Hart	3	Magician	3rd
Libby & Charlie	4	Dance Duo	10th
4MG	5	Close-up Magicians	11th
Mark McMullan	6	Opera Singer	7th
Jonathan Goodwin	7	Escape Artist	8th
Siobhan Phillips	8	Comic Pianist & Singer	9th
X (Marc Spelmann)	9	Mentalist	2nd
Kojo Anim	10	Stand-up Comedian	4th
Colin Thackery	11	War Veteran Singer	1st

Ratings

Main article: List of Britain's Got Talent episodes

Episode	Air date	Total viewers (millions)	ITV weekly rank
Auditions 1	6 April	10.66	1
Auditions 2	13 April	10.49	1
Auditions 3	20 April	9.48	1
Auditions 4	27 April	10.18	1
Auditions 5	4 May	9.94	1
Auditions 6	11 May	9.40	1
Auditions 7	18 May	8.79	1
Auditions 8	25 May	8.03	1
Semi-final 1	27 May	8.69	2
Semi-final 1 results		6.68	12
Semi-final 2	28 May	7.64	4
Semi-final 2 results		TBA	TBA
Semi-final 3	29 May	7.70	3
Semi-final 3 results		TBA	TBA
Semi-final 4	30 May	7.26	6
Semi-final 4 results		TBA	TBA
Semi-final 5	31 May	7.03	10
Semi-final 5 results		TBA	TBA
Final	2 June	9.73	1

Criticism

Professional participants

Following the broadcast of Chapter 13's audition, viewers criticised the decision by Amanda Holden to give the band her golden buzzer. The band openly discussed that they had met whilst performing in the West End show School of Rock, which prompted complaints by viewers that the act was a professional one and thus it was "unfair" that the band had received a place in the semi-finals.

Unacceptable content in Semi-final

During the live semi-final on 27 May 2019, a semi-finalist act drew criticism from viewers in two separate areas. Regulator Ofcom received around 192 complaints regarding the broadcast of the performance by The Haunting - 154 of these complaints focused on the scary nature of the act, citing that it was unsuitable for the programme and could likely cause distress for young viewers; 38 of the complaints focused on the reaction of Amanda Holden, in which the frightening nature of the act caused her to swear on live television before the 9pm Watershed. Although no investigation was made, ITV censored Holden's swearing for playback services, despite it being posted onto social media, with Holden apologising for her reaction.

Simon Cowell walk-off

Following their live semi-final appearance on 30 May 2019, ventriloquist Jimmy Tamley criticised the producers of Britain's Got Talent for setting him up before he had conducted a new routine on live television. His criticism was over the fact that, despite fair treatment from backstage staff, he had not been informed that Cowell had been dealing with a skiing injury during his involvement in the programme, and thus could not fully take part in Tamley's act as a life-size ventriloquist's dummy through the use of a "ventriloquist mask" – a special device used by ventriloquists on human volunteers, which could be operated by concealed controls. Following his performance, Tamley voiced his anger at Cowell's decision to leave mid-way into his performance, later stating that the producers had "threw me under the bus".