The fifth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, from 16 April to 4 June 2011; due to live coverage of the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final on 28 May, the final audition episode of the series was pushed back a day to avoid clashing with it. As Piers Morgan had departed from the programme the previous year, and the schedule of Simon Cowell made him unable to attend auditions, the producers arranged for Amanda Holden to be joined by David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre on the judging panel.McIntyre, Hasselhoff for 'Britain's Got Talent' Digital Spy, 14 December 2010 Due to Hasselhoff's schedule during filming of the auditions, Louis Walsh stepped in as a guest judge for the sessions he could not attend.Britain's Got Talent auditions hit London Now Magazine
This series saw the judging panel expanded to four judges for the first time in the programme's history, albeit for the live episodes – Cowell chose not to have either replacement drop out when he returned to attend the remainder of the contest. Because of this decision, the rules for the judges' vote had to be amended so that the public vote could be used to deal with a tied vote amongst the panel between the 2nd and 3rd placed semi-finalists of a semi-final. Apart from the change in format for the live rounds, the programme's studio used for live episodes was given a considerable revamp for the new series.
The fifth series was won by singer Jai McDowall, with singer Ronan Parke finishing in second place and boyband New Bounce third. During its broadcast, the series averaged around 10.9 million viewers, and was the first in the show's history to be aired in high definition. In an interview made after the series' broadcast, hosts Ant & Dec marked the fifth series as a poor one for the show because of the low quality of some of the participants that took part. During the broadcast of the fifth series, the programme faced accusations of unfair treatment to participants, while the producers had to bring in police to investigate a suspected act of online bullying against one of the semi-finalists during production.
Series overview
Following open auditions held the previous year, the Judges' auditions took place across January and February 2011, within London, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Liverpool and Birmingham; an additional round of auditions were held in Birmingham on 3 April, consisting of those found through their online videos on YouTube.Simon Cowell wants extra Britain's Got Talent auditions Unreality TV, 3 March 2011 In December 2010, Simon Cowell revealed that, because of his commitments in launching the American version of The X Factor, he would only be present for the live episodes of this series. Both this announcement, and the departure of Piers Morgan the previous year, led to a change in the judging panel, in which Amanda Holden was joined by two new judges recruited by the producers – comedian Michael McIntyre; and actor David Hasselhoff, who had previously worked as a judge on America's Got Talent. Owing to his work schedule in 2011, Hasselhoff was forced to miss the London auditions, leading to Louis Walsh standing in for him as a guest judge.
Prior to filming, plans had been made to incorporate an element from the format of The X Factor, in which auditions would be attended by a guest judge for each one; such a format addition was later made for America's Got Talent in 2015. However, the format change was never made by the production team, for unknown reasons. For the first time in the show's history, after the auditions were over, some of the acts found themselves having to perform again, due to the judges facing some difficulty in making a final decision on whom to send through into the live semi-finals.
Of the participants that took part, only forty-one made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals, with eight appearing in the first four and nine in the final semi-final, and ten of these acts making it into the live final. Because the live episodes now featured four judges, the rule on the judges' votes was modified as a result – if the judges were split over which two acts would follow the winner of the public vote, the decision would be made by which had received the second highest number of public votes. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:
ParticipantAge(s) GenrePerformance TypeSemi-finalResult Abyss 17–28 Dance Dance Group 3 Angela & Teddy 64 & 12 Animals Dog Act 3 Antonio Popeye 47 Variety Eye Popper 5 Bruce Sistaz 19 & 27 Acrobatics Martial Arts Duo 1 Dance Angels Elite 8–24 Dance Dance Group 4 David & Karen 39 & 27 Magic Magic Duo 2 Donelda Guy 66 Animals Dog Act 1 Edward Reid 35 Comedy / Singing Comic Singer 4 Enchantment 17–51 Acrobatics Circus Group 2 Follow the Right Path 14 & 13 Singing Rap Duo 5 Gay & Alan 56 & 59 Music Handbell Players 3 Girls Roc 22–25 Dance Fire Dance Group 1 Herbie Armstrong 66 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist 2 Jai McDowall 24 Singing Singer 4 James Hobley 11 Dance Contemporary Dancer 3 Jay Worley 17 Singing Singer 3 Jean Martyn 59 Music Organist 2 Jessica Hobson 19 Singing / Music Singer & Pianist 4 Joe Oakley 19 Danger Trial Bike Rider 1 Les Gibson 41 Comedy Impressionist 3 Lorna Bliss 32 Singing Britney Spears Impersonator 2 Marawa 28 Variety Hula Hoop Artist 5 Mexican Mayhem 59, 4 & 3 Animals Dog Act 4 Michael Collings 19 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist 5 Michael Moral 21 Dance Breakdancer 5 Mr. & Mrs. 44 & 55 Singing / Music Singing Duo & Keyboardist 5 Nathan Wyburn 21 Variety Visual Artist 4 New Bounce 12–16 Singing Boy Band 2 Third Place Out of the Blue 18–22 Singing A Cappella Group 4 Paul Gbegbaje 19 Music Pianist 1 Pip & Puppy 20 & 6 months Singing / Animals Opera Singer & Dog Act 5 Razy Gogonea 28 Dance Breakdancer 5 Ronan Parke 12 Singing Singer 1 Steven Hall 53 Comedy / Dance Comic Dancer 4 Stuart Arnold 48 Singing / Comedy Rapping Terminator Impersonator 1 Ted & Grace 92 & 21 Singing Singing Duo 1 The Celtic Colleens 8–30 Dance Blacklight Dance Group 5 The Circus of Horrors 18–54 Acrobatics Circus Group 3 Two and a Half Men 26–28 Dance Dance Trio 2 Up & Over It 31 & 31 Dance Table Based Dance Duo 2 Wachiraporn Tirpak 27 Variety Entertainer 3
Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this series. The latter values pertain to the age of the dogs, as disclosed by their respective owners. The age of the animals used by Donelda Guy were not disclosed during their time on the programme. Locations for members of each respective group, or the group as a whole, were not disclosed during their time on the programme. Michael Moral was not originally given a place in the live rounds. His placement was due to the high standards of his performance leading Cowell to giving him a place as a semi-finalist.
Semi-finals summary Buzzed out | Judges' vote |
Semi-final 1 (30 May) Guest performance: Spelbound
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult Girls Roc 1Fire Dance Group1.0% 7th - Eliminated Donelda Guy 2Dog Act4.0% 5th - Eliminated Stuart Arnold 3Rapping Terminator Impersonator0.4% 8th - Eliminated Paul Gbegbaje 4Pianist15.1% 2nd (Judges' vote tied - Won on Public vote) Bruce Sistaz 5Martial Arts Duo6.2% 4th - Eliminated Ted & Grace 6Singing Duo2.5% 6th - Eliminated Joe Oakley 7Trial Bike Rider9.2% 3rd (Judges' vote tied - Lost on Public vote) Ronan Parke 8Singer61.6% 1st (Won Public vote)
Semi-final 2 (31 May) Guest performance: Cast of Shrek the Musical ("I'm a Believer")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult Two and a Half Men 1Dance Trio15.4% 4th - Eliminated Enchantment 2Circus Group1.8% 7th - Eliminated Herbie Armstrong 3Singer & Guitarist5.2% 5th - Eliminated Lorna Bliss 4Britney Spears Impersonator1.5% 8th - Eliminated New Bounce 5Boy Band34.3% 1st (Won Public vote) Jean Martyn 6Organist20.8% 2nd (Won Judges' vote) David & Karen 7Illusion Duo16.5% 3rd (Lost Judges' vote) Up & Over It 8Table Based Hand Dancers4.5% 6th - Eliminated
Cowell did not cast his vote due to the majority support for Jean Martyn from the other judges, but admitted that his voting intention would have been for this semi-finalist.
Semi-final 3 (1 June) Guest performance: Avril Lavigne("What the Hell"/"Smile")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult The Circus of Horrors 1Circus Group4.0% 6th - Eliminated Jay Worley 2Singer7.8% 4th - Eliminated Angela & Teddy 3Dog Act1.2% 7th - Eliminated Abyss 4Street Dance Group4.5% 5th - Eliminated Wachiraporn Tirpak 5Entertainer0.7% 8th - Eliminated Les Gibson 6Impressionist38.1% 1st (Won Public vote) James Hobley 7Contemporary Dancer33.0% 2nd (Won Judges' vote) Gay & Alan 8Handbell Players10.7% 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Semi-final 4 (2 June) Guest performance: Jessie J ("Mamma Knows Best")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult Dance Angels Elite 1Dance Troupe2.3% 6th - Eliminated Jessica Hobson 2Singer & Pianist4.7% 5th - Eliminated Mexican Mayhem 3Dog Act0.4% 8th - Eliminated Out of the Blue 4A Capella Group11.8% 4th - Eliminated Nathan Wyburn 5Visual Artist1.0% 7th - Eliminated Jai McDowall 6Singer42.9% 1st (Won Public vote) Steven Hall 7Comic Dancer13.0% 3rd (Won Judges' vote) Edward Reid 8Comic Singer23.9% 2nd (Lost Judges' vote)
Semi-final 5 (3 June) Guest performance: Diversity & JLS ("Eyes Wide Shut"/"Everybody in Love")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult Marawa 1Hula Hoop Artist1.1% 7th - Eliminated Pip & Puppy 2Opera Singer & Singing Dog12.0% 3rd (Lost Judges' vote) The Celtic Colleens 3Blacklight Dance Group8.1% 4th - Eliminated Mr. & Mrs. 4Singing Duo & Keyboardist0.3% 9th - Eliminated Follow the Right Path 5Rap Duo5.6% 6th - Eliminated Antonio Popeye 6Eye Popper0.6% 8th - Eliminated Michael Moral 7Breakdancer6.8% 5th - Eliminated Michael Collings 8Singer & Guitarist29.5% 2nd (Won Judges' vote) Razy Gogonea 9Breakdancer36.0% 1st (Won Public vote)
Jedward made a special appearance for this performance as backing dancers & singers. Hasselhoff did not cast his vote due to the majority support for Michael Collings from the other judges, but admitted that his voting intention would have been for this semi-finalist.
Final (4 June) Guest performances: Jackie Evancho ("Nessun dorma") and Nicole Scherzinger ("Right There")
FinalistOrderPerformance TypePercentageFinished Steven Hall 1Comic Dancer5.4% 7th Michael Collings 2Singer & Guitarist7.7% 5th Les Gibson 3Impressionist2.6% 9th James Hobley 4Contemporary Dancer3.5% 8th Paul Gbegbaje 5Pianist5.8% 6th Ronan Parke 6Singer26.7% 2nd Jean Martyn 7Organist2.0% 10th Jai McDowall 8Singer29.1% 1st Razy Gogonea 9Breakdancer8.4% 4th New Bounce 10Boy Band8.9% 3rd
Ratings
Episode Air Date Total viewers(millions) ITV1Weekly rank Viewer Share (%) Auditions 1 16 April 11.42 3 40.5 Auditions 2 23 April 10.62 3 41.5 Auditions 3 30 April 10.65 1 39.9 Auditions 4 7 May 11.69 1 42.2 Auditions 5 14 May 9.72 3 32.0 Auditions 6 21 May 11.16 1 42.2 Auditions 7 29 May 11.53 1 40.4 Semi-final 1 30 May 12.27 4 41.9 Semi-final 1 results 11.16 6 38.2 Semi-final 2 31 May 10.65 10 40.5 Semi-final 2 results 10.04 15 35.8 Semi-final 3 1 June 10.31 16 41.8 Semi-final 3 results 8.67 17 28.9 Semi-final 42 June 10.53 12 43.2 Semi-final 4 results 10.48 11 39.1 Semi-final 53 June 10.36 14 43.3 Semi-final 5 results 10.61 9 42.3 Live final4 June 12.70 2 47.0 Live final results 12.95 1 49.3
Criticism & incidents