Britain's Got Talent series 18
| Britain's Got Talent | |
|---|---|
| Series 18 | |
| Presented by | Ant & Dec |
| Judges | Bruno Tonioli Alesha Dixon Amanda Holden Simon Cowell KSI (guest) |
| Winner | Harry Moulding |
| Runner-up | The Blackouts |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Original release | 22 February – 31 May 2025 |
| Series chronology | |
The eighteenth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV from 22 February 2025[1] and concluded on 31 May 2025; due to live coverage of the final match weekend of the 2025 Six Nations Championship, on 15 March 2025, the fourth audition episode of the series was pushed back by a week. Additionally, due to BBC One and ITV's shared live coverage of the 2025 FA Cup final and BBC One's live coverage of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest final, on 17 May 2025, the fourth semi-final was pushed back a day to avoid clashes. Auditions took place in Blackpool, between October 2024 and January 2025, rather than London, for the first time in the show's history, with internet personality, boxer and rapper KSI partially replacing Bruno Tonioli, who was unavailable due to his commitments in America with Dancing with the Stars; he also stepped in for Simon Cowell, who stepped down following the death of Liam Payne.
The series is notable for airing in February, rather than April, with the audition episodes filling in the gap in the schedule left by Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, which entered indefinite hiatus, following the end of its twentieth series, in April 2024. Additionally, the live semi-finals were aired weekly on Saturday nights (with the exception of the fourth), from 26 April, with the live final airing on 31 May 2025.
The eighteenth series was won by magician Harry Moulding, with dance group The Blackouts as runners-up, and dancer Binita Chetry finishing in third place.
Series overview
[edit]Following the conclusion of the previous series, it was announced that the show would return for an eighteenth series. It was also confirmed that the judging panel of the prior series would remain the same, with Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli returning to the show, additionally, guest judge KSI partially replaced Tonioli, who was unavailable due to his commitments in America with Dancing with the Stars, and also stepped in for Simon, who stepped down following the death of One Direction star Liam Payne. This is the first time in the show's history that it aired in February, instead of April, to fill the gap in the schedule left by Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, following the start of its indefinite hiatus, in April 2024.[2]
In November 2024, it was announced that the auditions would be entirely filmed in Blackpool and not in London for the first time in the show's history.[3]
The pre-recorded auditions were broadcast from 22 February to 19 April 2025; due to live coverage of the final match weekend of the 2025 Six Nations Championship, the fourth audition episode of the series was pushed back by a week. The live semi-final shows started airing on a weekly basis, from 26 April to the live final on 31 May 2025. Due to BBC One and ITV's live coverage of the 2025 FA Cup final and BBC One's live coverage of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest final, on 17 May 2025, the fourth semi-final was pushed back a day to avoid clashes.
On 16 April 2025, it was announced that each of the judges and the hosts, Ant & Dec, were permitted to one Golden Buzzer each in the live shows with one pressed every episode to advance an act onto the final with the other Finalist on a weekly basis being determined by the act who won the Public Vote.[4] However, during the last semi final, on 24 May 2025, it was announced by Ant & Dec that they would not press their Live Show Golden Buzzer and instead gave it to KSI, who served as a guest judge once more during the show.
Winner
Runner-Up
Third Place
Semi-Finalist
Wildcard
Golden Buzzer
Live Show Golden Buzzer
| Participant | Age(s) | Genre | Act | From | Semi-final | Finished |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akira | 50 | Variety | Novelty Act | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | Eliminated |
| Albert Amores | 18 | Acrobatics | Aerialist | Spain | 3 | Eliminated |
| Alexandra Burgio | 34 | Magic | Magician | Canada | 2 | Eliminated |
| Auzzy Blood | 29 | Danger | Sideshow Performer | Las Vegas, USA | 1 | Eliminated |
| Bao Cuong | 45 | Danger | Danger Act | Vietnam | 3 | Eliminated |
| Binita Chetry | 8 | Dance | Dancer | Assam, India | 5 | Third place |
| Cheer Re Man’s | 22-31 | Acrobatics / Dance | Cheerleading Group | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | Eliminated |
| CJ Emmons | 43 | Singing | Singer | Los Angeles, California | 5 | Eliminated |
| Eden Choi | 24 | Magic | Magician | South Korea | 1 | Eliminated |
| Electric Umbrella
|
5-66 | Singing | Choir | Watford, Hertfordshire | 3 | Eliminated |
| Han & Fran
|
35 & 36 | Singing | Singing Duo | Llandudno, Conwy, North Wales | 5 | Finalist |
| Harry & Lewis | 27 | Dance | Dance Duo | Liverpool & Manchester | 3 | Eliminated |
| Harry Moulding
|
24 | Magic | Magician | Blackpool, Lancashire | 5 | Winner |
| Hear Our Voice | 17-76 | Singing | Choir | Various | 4 | Finalist |
| Heavysaurus | — | Singing / Music | Band | Germany[5] | 1 | Eliminated |
| IDOLLS 1 | 18-32 | Dance | Dance Group | Japan | 4 | Eliminated |
| Jannick Holste | 22 | Magic / Dance | Magician & Dancer | Germany | 2 | Eliminated |
| Jasmine Rice
|
36 | Singing | Opera Singer | New York, USA | 3 | Finalist |
| Jerry Pop | 12 | Dance | Dancer | Manchester | 5 | Eliminated |
| John Pierce | 42 | Singing | Opera Singer | Essex | 2 | Eliminated |
| Joseph Charm
|
32 | Comedy | Comedian | Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire | 4 | Finalist |
| Lil M’s | 5-10 | Dance | Dance Group | Port Talbot, Wales | 2 | Eliminated |
| Linda Mudzenda
|
21 | Singing | Singer | Zimbabwe | 1 | Eliminated |
| Manho Han | 33 | Magic | Quick Change Artist | South Korea | 5 | Eliminated |
| Maya Giotea
|
14 | Singing | Singer | Romania | 4 | Eliminated |
| Max Fox
|
35 | Singing | Singer | Blackpool, Lancashire | 4 | Eliminated |
| Mickey Callisto | 28 | Singing | Singer | Sunderland, Tyne and Wear | 3 | Eliminated |
| Obsequious | 19-33 | Dance | Dance Group | Manila, Philippines | 4 | Eliminated |
| Olly Pearson
|
11 | Music | Guitarist | Wrexham, Wales | 2 | Finalist |
| Papi Bucket | 39 | Music | Novelty Musician | Taiwan | 4 | Eliminated |
| Ping Pong Pang | 15-37 | Dance | Dance Group | Italy | 3 | Finalist |
| Red Panda | 54 | Acrobatics | Unicyclist | China | 5 | Eliminated |
| RuMac | 32 | Singing / Music | Singer & Accordionist | Ullapool, Scotland | 3 | Eliminated |
| Stacey Leadbeatter
|
29 | Singing | Singer | Yorkshire | 2 | Finalist |
| Teddy Magic | 8 | Magic | Close Up Magician | Kent | 1 | Withdrew |
| The Blackouts
|
18-42 | Dance | LED Dance Group | Switzerland | 1 | Runner-up |
| The Lazy Generation | 28-36 | Danger | Stunt Group | London | 5 | Eliminated |
| TK Magic | 28 | Magic | Magician | Dagenham, East London | 4 | Eliminated |
| Vinnie McKee
|
29 | Singing | Singer | Glasgow, Scotland | 1 | Finalist |
| Will Burns
|
24 | Comedy | Impressionist | Leeds, West Yorkshire | 2 | Eliminated |
Semi-finals summary
[edit]
Buzzed out Golden Buzzer
Won the Golden Buzzer
Won the Public Vote
2nd in Public Vote
3rd in Public Vote
Eliminated
Prior to the beginning of the live shows, the semi-finalists were decided following a deliberation stage.
Semi-final 1 (26 April)
[edit]- Guest performance: The Cast of Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Tonioli | |||
| Heavysaurus | 1 |
|
6th -Eliminated | |||
| Vinnie McKee | 2 | 1st (Won Public Vote) | ||||
| The Blackouts | 3 |
|
Golden Buzzer Advancement | |||
| Akira | 4 | 4th - Eliminated | ||||
| Linda Mudzenda | 5 | 2nd - Eliminated | ||||
| Auzzy Blood | 6 | 5th -Eliminated | ||||
| Eden Choi | 7 | 3rd - Eliminated | ||||
| Teddy Magic2 | Withdrew | |||||
^2 Teddy Magic was scheduled to perform second, but withdrew for unknown reasons during the semifinal, with the possibility of returning for a later semifinal. However, his parents later withdrew him on 15th May, with the possibility of returning for a later series.
Semi-final 2 (3 May)
[edit]- Guest performance: The Cast of Disney's Hercules
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Tonioli | |||
| Lil M’s | 1 | 5th - Eliminated | ||||
| John Pierce | 2 | 7th - Eliminated | ||||
| Alexandra Burgio | 3 | 4th - Eliminated | ||||
| Olly Pearson | 4 |
|
Golden Buzzer Advancement | |||
| Jannick Holste | 5 | 6th - Eliminated | ||||
| Will Burns | 6 | 3 | 2nd - Eliminated | |||
| Cheer Re Man’s | 7 | 3rd - Eliminated | ||||
| Stacey Leadbeatter | 8 | 1st (Won Public Vote) | ||||
^3 Will Burns buzzed himself with Cowell's buzzer as part of his act.
Semi-final 3 (10 May)
[edit]- Guest performance: The Cast of Just For One Day, Sydnie Christmas & Loren Allred
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Tonioli | |||
| Harry & Lewis | 1 | 5th - Eliminated | ||||
| Albert Amores | 2 | 3rd - Eliminated | ||||
| Mickey Callisto | 3 | 4th - Eliminated | ||||
| Jasmine Rice | 4 |
|
Golden Buzzer Advancement | |||
| RuMac | 5 |
|
|
|
6th - Eliminated | |
| Ping Pong Pang | 6 | 1st (Won Public Vote) | ||||
| Bao Cuong | 7 | 7th - Eliminated | ||||
| Electric Umbrella | 8 | 2nd - Eliminated | ||||
Semi-final 4 (18 May)
[edit]- Guest performance: The Cast of Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular, The Cast of Oliver!
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Tonioli | |||
| IDOLLS | 1 | 5th - Eliminated | ||||
| Papi Bucket | 2 |
|
|
|
7th - Eliminated | |
| Max Fox | 3 | 2nd - Eliminated | ||||
| TK Magic | 4 | 3rd - Eliminated | ||||
| Maya Giotea | 5 | 4th - Eliminated | ||||
| Joseph Charm | 6 |
|
Golden Buzzer Advancement | |||
| Obsequious | 7 | 6th - Eliminated | ||||
| Hear Our Voice | 8 | 1st (Won Public Vote) | ||||
Semi-final 5 (24 May)
[edit]- Guest performance: Here & Now - The Steps Musical & Steps, Diversity
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | KSI | Dixon | Tonioli | |||
| Jerry Pop | 1 | 7th - Eliminated | |||||
| CJ Emmons | 2 | 3rd - Eliminated | |||||
| Harry Moulding | 3 |
|
Golden Buzzer Advancement | ||||
| Binita Chetry | 4 | 1st (Won Public Vote) | |||||
| Red Panda | 5 | 6th - Eliminated | |||||
| The Lazy Generation | 6 | 4
|
4th - Eliminated | ||||
| Manho Han | 7 | 5th - Eliminated | |||||
| Han & Fran | 8 | 2nd - Eliminated | |||||
^4 Although he didn't have a buzzer himself, KSI pressed Dixon's buzzer at the end of the performance to mark his disapproval of the act.
^5 Han & Fran were later sent through as the judges’ wildcard.
Final (31 May)
[edit]• Guest Performance: KSI & Tom Grennan
- Winner | Runner-up | Third place
| Finalist | Order | Percentage | Finished |
|---|---|---|---|
| Han & Fran | 1 | 3.6% | 9th |
| Ping Pong Pang | 2 | 3.1% | 10th |
| Stacey Leadbeatter | 3 | 2.8% | 11th |
| Hear Our Voice | 4 | 7.0% | 7th |
| Joseph Charm | 5 | 9.3% | 5th |
| Vinnie McKee | 6 | 4.7% | 8th |
| Jasmine Rice | 7 | 9.1% | 6th |
| Binita Chetry | 8 | 13.2% | 3rd |
| The Blackouts | 9 | 15.1% | 2nd |
| Harry Moulding | 10 | 21.7% | 1st |
| Olly Pearson | 11 | 10.4% | 4th |
Ratings
[edit]| Episode | Air date | Total viewers (millions)[6] |
ITV Weekly rank[6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auditions 1 | 22 February | 6.19 | 3 |
| Auditions 2 | 1 March | 5.68 | 2 |
| Auditions 3 | 8 March | 5.78 | 1 |
| Auditions 4 | 22 March | 5.41 | 3 |
| Auditions 5 | 29 March | 5.49 | 3 |
| Auditions 6 | 5 April | 5.21 | 2 |
| Auditions 7 | 12 April | 5.24 | 1 |
| Auditions 8 | 19 April | 5.03 | 2 |
| Semi-Final 1 | 26 April | 5.14 | 1 |
| Semi-Final 2 | 3 May | 4.86 | 1 |
| Semi-Final 3 | 10 May | 4.87 | 1 |
| Semi-Final 4 | 18 May | 4.32 | 2 |
| Semi-Final 5 | 24 May | 4.95 | 1 |
| Final | 31 May | 5.32 | 1 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Britain's Got Talent schedule revealed for 2025 series". TV Zone UK. 16 January 2025. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Crick, Claire. "Britain's Got Talent 2025: judges, hosts and everything we know". What To Watch.
- ^ "Britain's Got Talent relocates auditions to blackpool, filming to resume in 2025". TV Zone UK.
- ^ "Introducing the Live Semi-Final GOLDEN BUZZER!". ITVX.
- ^ Even though Heavysaurus originated in Finland, The German version of the band competed in Britain's Got Talent
- ^ a b "BARB Weekly Top Programmes on Four Screens". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.
