50 Fun Facts About Britain's Got Talent

Which Les Misérables song did Susan Boyle sing at her 2009 Britain's Got Talent audition?

I Dreamed a Dream was watched by over 10 million viewers when the audition aired. Her debut album took the same title and set a UK record for first-week sales by a debut album.

Which street dance troupe beat favourite Susan Boyle to win the 2009 final of Britain's Got Talent?

Diversity won in front of a record audience of 17.3 million viewers. Simon Cowell said theirs was the only performance of the night he would have given a 10.

Which former Daily Mirror editor judged Britain's Got Talent from 2007 to 2010 before hosting a CNN talk show?

Piers Morgan replaced Larry King in CNN's evening line-up in January 2011. He had been judging America's Got Talent at the same time as the British series.

Which American actor left America's Got Talent and then judged Britain's Got Talent for one series in 2011?

David Hasselhoff, the star of Baywatch and Knight Rider, had been lined up for the original 2007 panel but pulled out before the first series aired.

Which Carphone Warehouse manager won the first series of Britain's Got Talent in 2007 by singing opera?

Paul Potts won with Nessun dorma, the Puccini aria he had sung at his audition. His debut album One Chance went on to top the charts in 13 countries.

Which dancing dog won Britain's Got Talent in 2012 with his teenage trainer Ashleigh Butler?

Pudsey was a Border Collie, Bichon Frise and Chinese Crested cross, and half of the first dog act to win. Simon Cowell later produced a feature film about him.

Which vehicle did Simon Cowell fall from in 2020, breaking his back and missing Britain's Got Talent's live shows?

An electric motorcycle threw him as he tested it at his home in Malibu, though many reports called it an electric bicycle. A past winner took his chair for the semi-finals and final.

Besides prize money, Britain's Got Talent winners earn a slot at which annual televised charity gala?

The Royal Variety Performance is staged each year before senior members of the royal family. It raises money for a charity that runs a care home for retired entertainers.

Under which stage names did Britain's Got Talent hosts Ant & Dec score 1990s pop hits?

PJ & Duncan were the characters the pair played in a BBC children's drama, where they first met as child actors in 1990.

KSI, who became a full-time Britain's Got Talent judge in 2026, co-founded which YouTube group?

The Sidemen are one of several ventures for KSI, who also co-founded Misfits Boxing and the Prime drinks brand. He first sat on the panel as a guest judge in 2025.

Which Italian choreographer replaced David Walliams on the Britain's Got Talent judging panel in 2023?

Bruno Tonioli stayed for three series before leaving in 2025. His filming commitments in America meant a guest judge had to cover some of his final audition days.

Britain's Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon first found fame in the early 2000s with which garage and R&B girl group?

Mis-Teeq scored seven consecutive UK top 10 singles and sold over 12 million records worldwide before splitting in 2005.

David Walliams, a Britain's Got Talent judge for a decade, swam which stretch of water for Sport Relief in 2006?

The English Channel was one of three charity swims. He also crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and swam the River Thames, raising millions of pounds.

Which father-and-son duo spoofed Irish dance shows in their Britain's Got Talent audition in 2009?

Stavros Flatley borrowed half their name from Riverdance star Michael Flatley and half from a Harry Enfield kebab shop character. The act was born in the father's Greek restaurant.

Which Hull singer won Simon Cowell's golden buzzer on Britain's Got Talent in 2015 with a Robyn cover?

Calum Scott finished sixth, then released the cover, Dancing on My Own, as a single. It peaked at number two and was Britain's best-selling single of summer 2016.

Loren Allred auditioned for Britain's Got Talent in 2022 after singing Never Enough for which hit film musical?

The Greatest Showman used her voice for Jenny Lind, the singer played on screen by Rebecca Ferguson. Amanda Holden gave her a golden buzzer and she went on to reach the final.

Simon Cowell, creator of Britain's Got Talent, first became famous in 2001 as a judge on which ITV singing contest?

Pop Idol was a show he had helped its creator Simon Fuller pitch to ITV. It was shelved after he announced the launch of The X Factor in 2004.

Which 14-year-old street dancer won Britain's Got Talent in 2008 with a routine performed under artificial rain?

George Sampson danced to Mint Royale's remix of Singin' in the Rain. The track went to number one in the UK on download sales alone in the week after his performance.

Which trick in Jules O'Dwyer's winning 2015 Britain's Got Talent final was secretly performed by a lookalike dog?

Walking a tightrope was left to a second dog, Chase, who looks much like the act's star Matisse. Ofcom later ruled that viewers of the final had been misled.

Which Chelsea Pensioner became the oldest winner of Britain's Got Talent in 2019, at the age of 89?

Colin Thackery served in the Korean War with the Royal Artillery. He moved into the Royal Hospital Chelsea after the death of Joan, his wife of 66 years.

Which stand-up comedian judged Britain's Got Talent for one series in 2011 while fronting his BBC Comedy Roadshow?

Michael McIntyre left after a single series, and in 2012 he was the highest-grossing stand-up comedian in the world.

Which model was added to Britain's Got Talent as a fourth judge in 2009 and dropped within a week?

Kelly Brook judged only the Manchester auditions before producers decided a four-judge panel was too complicated. A full-time fourth seat finally arrived in 2012.

Which American actress filled in for new mother Amanda Holden at Britain's Got Talent's London auditions in 2012?

Carmen Electra, who made her name as Lani McKenzie in Baywatch, sat in for the London audition days. It was the first series with David Walliams and Alesha Dixon on the panel.

Which X Factor judge covered for a flu-stricken Simon Cowell at Britain's Got Talent's Birmingham auditions in 2010?

Louis Walsh came back as a stand-in for the London auditions a year later. He went on to be head judge of Ireland's Got Talent when it launched in 2018.

Which former Britain's Got Talent winner took Simon Cowell's seat for the live shows of the 2020 series?

Ashley Banjo had won in 2009 as leader of a street dance troupe. His group's 2020 guest routine, inspired by Black Lives Matter, drew about 24,500 complaints, which Ofcom rejected.

Alesha Dixon quit the judging panel of which BBC show to join Britain's Got Talent in 2012?

Strictly Come Dancing had crowned her its champion in 2007, and she judged it from 2009 before switching channels to sit beside Simon Cowell.

Amanda Holden of Britain's Got Talent first appeared on television in 1991 as a contestant on which ITV game show?

Blind Date put her on screen years before her run in the ITV comedy drama The Grimleys. She joined the talent show's original panel in 2007.

Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden won an Olivier Award nomination for the title role in which musical?

Thoroughly Modern Millie brought her a Best Actress in a Musical nomination, though the West End production closed earlier than expected in June 2004.

Which presenter hosted Britain's Got Talent's ITV2 companion show, Britain's Got More Talent, from 2007 to 2019?

Stephen Mulhern was once the youngest member of The Magic Circle, which later suspended him for revealing a trick on children's television.

The golden buzzer reached Britain's Got Talent in 2014, but which country's Got Talent show used it first?

Germany introduced the golden buzzer in 2012 on Das Supertalent, its version of the format. The British series adopted it two years later, sending chosen acts straight to the live rounds.

Which This Morning presenter sat beside Simon Cowell on the unaired 2005 pilot of Britain's Got Talent?

Fern Britton was gone from the line-up by the time the series launched in 2007, when actress Amanda Holden took the third chair. The pilot went unseen until a 2012 documentary.

Which chat show host fronted the 2005 pilot of Britain's Got Talent but quit after a row with ITV?

Paul O'Grady walked away after ITV would not rent studios to his teatime show once it moved to Channel 4. Ant & Dec were announced as hosts in February 2007.

Which Girls Aloud singer was lined up as an original Britain's Got Talent judge in 2007 but withdrew before it aired?

Cheryl Cole stepped aside before the first series aired, and actress Amanda Holden took the chair. Simon Cowell later hired Cole as a judge on The X Factor instead.

Simon Cowell modelled Britain's Got Talent on New Faces and which other long-running British variety talent show?

Opportunity Knocks let viewers pick the winner by postal vote. Its studio clap-o-meter measured the applause for each act but never counted towards the result.

Britain's Got Talent was piloted in 2005, but which country aired the first full Got Talent series in 2006?

United States viewers saw the format first when NBC launched its version in June 2006. Its success persuaded ITV to revive the stalled British series the following year.

Which London theatre became the home of Britain's Got Talent's live semi-finals and final in 2018?

Hammersmith Apollo took over after the show's first home, The Fountain Studios in Wembley, closed in 2016. Elstree Studios filled the gap for a single year.

In which seaside resort were all the judges' auditions for the 2025 series of Britain's Got Talent filmed?

Blackpool hosted every audition day at its Winter Gardens. It was the first time in the show's history that no auditions were filmed in London.

Which Britain's Got Talent rule, added in 2012, allowed the judges to send one eliminated semi-finalist into the final?

The Wildcard arrived in the same series that gave the panel a full-time fourth judge. For two years the public could also vote an eliminated act back in.

Shadow theatre troupe Attraction, the first foreign winners of Britain's Got Talent, came from which country?

Hungary had already watched the Budapest troupe perform at its Olympic oath ceremony before the London 2012 Games. They won the British title a year later.

Which musical theatre boy band won Britain's Got Talent in 2014 after auditioning with Stars from Les Misérables?

Collabro won with 26.5% of the vote. Their debut album, also called Stars, went straight to number one in the UK that summer.

Which acrobatic gymnastics troupe won Britain's Got Talent in 2010, beating a street dance duo into second place?

Spelbound were competitive gymnasts, and six of them went on to win gold at their sport's 2010 world championships after their television win.

Which serving soldier in the Household Cavalry band became the first magician to win Britain's Got Talent, in 2016?

Richard Jones held the rank of lance corporal and had spent three years with the band of the Parachute Regiment. No other magic act won the show until 2025.

Which pianist won Britain's Got Talent in 2017 after auditioning with his take on Ed Sheeran's Bloodstream?

Tokio Myers had toured in Mr Hudson's band, supporting Kanye West and Amy Winehouse. Within weeks of winning he co-produced a charity single for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.

Under which stage name did County Durham comedian Lee Ridley win Britain's Got Talent in 2018?

Lost Voice Guy cannot speak because of cerebral palsy, so he performs his stand-up through a text-to-speech app on an iPad, with the lines programmed in advance.

Which comedy pianist became the first golden buzzer act to win Britain's Got Talent, in the 2020 series?

Jon Courtenay was sent straight to the semi-finals by presenters Ant & Dec, who share a single golden buzzer between them.

Which stand-up comedian won Britain's Got Talent in 2022 after Simon Cowell pressed his golden buzzer for him?

Axel Blake beat ventriloquist Jamie Leahey and singer Tom Ball in the final to take the £250,000 prize.

Which comedian won Britain's Got Talent in 2023 by peeling off layer after layer of high-vis vests?

Viggo Venn is a Norwegian who trained at the French clown school of Philippe Gaulier. He said the constant stripping of vests gave him a repetitive strain injury in his elbow.

Which singer won Britain's Got Talent in 2024 after Amanda Holden's golden buzzer for her take on Tomorrow from Annie?

Sydnie Christmas had been working at a local gym before her audition. She sealed the title in the final with Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz.

Which magician won Britain's Got Talent in 2025 after a live-show golden buzzer sent him straight to the final?

Harry Moulding took 21.7% of the final vote, ahead of LED dance group The Blackouts. He was 24 and had been performing magic since the age of 10.

Which singing group won Britain's Got Talent in 2026, finishing ahead of a drone display and a dog act?

Hawkstone Farmers Choir were the first choir ever to win the show. Choirs had come close before, with a sign-language choir second in 2020 and a Welsh boys' choir third in 2012.