The seventh series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, from 13 April to 8 June 2013; because of England's international friendly with the Republic of Ireland that year, the show took a break on 29 May to avoid clashing with live coverage of the match. Because of the work schedule of Stephen Mulhern, host of Britain's Got More Talent, filmed auditions had to be pushed back to mid-January that year, while no guest judge was brought in despite the absence of Simon Cowell for an audition session. Following the previous series, the programme's format was given a minor amendment - the cash prize offered to winners was reduced to £250,000 from this series onwards.
The seventh series was won by shadow theatre troupe Attraction, the first foreign national participant to win the competition, with comedian Jack Carroll finishing in second place and singing duo Richard & Adam third. Additionally, Attraction was the only act to finish first, second, or third through seven series of Britain’s Got Talent, and would remain the only international act to finish in the top-3 in the show’s first ten series. They would eventually be joined by third place Malawian Daliso Chaponda, and in the subsequent series, there have been an additional half dozen international acts finishing in the top-3. During its broadcast, the series averaged around 10.4 million viewers. The programme faced severe criticism from viewers over a number of auditions that were broadcast as part of the sixth series, while production staff had to investigate a breach of security after a protester managed to pelt Cowell with eggs during a live broadcast of a finalist's performance.
Series overview Following open auditions, the Judges' auditions were held in January and February 2013, within Cardiff, London, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham. Although filming was planned to begin by 7 January, it was pushed back to 16 January due to Stephen Mulhern's schedule as host for Britain's Got More Talent, he would provide feedback and present additional auditions not featured on the main programme, but filming on the original date would have clashed with his involvement for Catchphrase that month. Most of the auditions that took place were uneventful; although Cowell was forced to miss most of the auditions on the second day in Manchester due to illness, production staff opted to proceed with these without bringing in a guest judge to stand in for him.
Of the participants that took part, only forty five made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals, with nine appearing in each one, and eleven of these acts making it into the live final; the wildcard act chosen by the judges was ventriloquist Steve Hewlett, after he lost out in the Judges' vote in the fifth semi-final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:
| Judges' Wildcard Finalist
ParticipantAge(s) GenrePerformance TypeSemi-finalResult Aaron Crow 44 Danger Danger Act 1 AJ & Chloe 17 & 18 Dance Latin Dance Duo 4 Alex Keirl 20 Singing Singer 4 Alice Fredenham 28 Singing Singer 2 Aliki 29 Singing Singer 5 Arisxandra 11 Singing Singer 1 Asanda 11 Singing Singer 4 Attraction 19–40 Dance Shadow Theatre Group 5 Band of Voices 27-47 Singing Vocal Group 1 Bosom Buddies 29 & 48 Singing Opera Singing Duo 1 CEO Dancers 22–24 Dance Dance Trio 5 Chasing The Dream 19-50 Singing Theatre Group 4 Club Town Freaks 25–38 Singing Vocal Group 4 Francine Lewis 37 Comedy Impressionist 4 Freelusion 25–39 Dance Electronic Dance Group 3 Gabz 14 Singing / Music Singer & Pianist 2 Gospel Singers Incognito 17–43 Singing Gospel Choir 5 J-Unity 19 Singing / Music Singing Duo & Guitarist 1 Jack & Cormac 13 & 14 Singing / Music Singing Duo & Guitarist 2 Jack Carroll 14 Comedy Stand Up Comedian 2 James More 24 Magic Illusionist 4 Jordan O'Keefe 18 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist 5 Joseph Hall 36 Dance Dancer 3 Luminites 18–21 Singing / Music Band 3 Maarty Broekman 23 Singing / Music Singer & Keytar Musician 5 Martin & Marielle 32 & 36 Acrobatics / Dance Acrobatic Dance Duo 2 Martin Healey 57 Dance Ballroom Dancer 1 MC Boy 22 Singing Rapper 3 McKnasty 27 Music Drummer & DJ 2 MD Dancers 14–22 Dance Dance Group 2 Meat Diva 31 & 27 Singing Cabaret Singing Duo 2 Modupe 19 Singing Singer 2 Philip Green 21 Comedy Impressionist 1 Poppin'Ron 21 Dance Bodypopper 4 Pre-Skool 5–8 Dance Dance Group 3 Richard & Adam 19 & 22 Singing Opera Singing Duo 1 Third Place Robbie Kennedy 22 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist 3 Rob's Duelling Pianos 55 Music Pianist 5 Rosie O'Sullivan 19 Singing Singer 3 Shockarellas 12–17 Dance Dance Group 4 Steve Hewlett 37 Comedy Ventriloquist 5 Stevie Pink 45 Magic Illusionist 3 The Glambassadors 21–36 Dance Dance Group 5 Thomas Bounce 16 Variety Juggler 3 Youth Creation 7–14 Dance Dance Group 1
Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this series. Rob's Duelling Pianos became a solo act, after a member of the act left before the semi-final.
Semi-finals summary Buzzed out | Judges' vote |
Semi-final 1 (27 May) Guest performance: Ellie Goulding ("Explosions"/"Anything Could Happen")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult Martin Healey 1Ballroom Dancer0.1% 9th - Eliminated Band of Voices 2Vocal Group1.9% 6th - Eliminated Youth Creation 3Dance Group7.2% 3rd (Judges' vote tied - Lost on Public vote) J-Unity 4Singing Duo & Guitarist1.5% 7th - Eliminated Bosom Buddies 5Opera Singing Duo1.0% 8th - Eliminated Philip Green 6Impressionist3.3% 5th - Eliminated Arisxandra 7Singer13.4% 2nd (Judges' vote tied - Won on Public vote) Aaron Crow 8Danger Act5.6% 4th - Eliminated Richard & Adam 9Opera Singing Duo66.0% 1st (Won Public vote)
Semi-final 2 (28 May) Guest performance: Jennifer Lopez ("Live It Up")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult Martin & Marielle 1Acrobatic Dance Duo0.6% 8th - Eliminated McKnasty 2DJ & Drummer2.7% 5th - Eliminated Jack & Cormac 3Singing Duo & Guitarist15.0% 3rd (Lost Judges' vote) Modupe 4Singer0.5% 9th - Eliminated Meat Diva 5Cabaret Singing Duo1.5% 7th - Eliminated MD 6Dance Group2.3% 6th - Eliminated Alice Fredenham 7Singer12.3% 4th - Eliminated Jack Carroll 8Stand Up Comedian42.5% 1st (Won Public Vote) Gabz 9Singer & Pianist22.6% 2nd (Won Judges' vote)
Cowell did not cast his vote due to the majority support for Gabz from the other judges, but admitted that his voting intention would have been for this semi-finalist.
Semi-final 3 (30 May) Guest performance: Demi Lovato ("Heart Attack")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult Freelusion 1Electronic Dance Group0.9% 7th - Eliminated Robbie Kennedy 2Singer & Guitarist12.6% 5th - Eliminated Stevie Pink 3Illusionist0.7% 8th - Eliminated Pre-Skool 4Dance Group16.9% 2nd (Judges' vote tied - Won on Public vote) Thomas Bounce 5Juggler0.6% 9th - Eliminated Rosie O'Sullivan 6Singer15.4% 4th - Eliminated Joseph Hall 7Dancer16.4% 3rd (Judges' vote tied - Lost on Public vote) MC Boy 8Rapper0.9% 6th - Eliminated Luminites 9Band35.6% 1st (Won Public vote)
Cowell pressed Holden's buzzer for MC Boy, though it was never retracted during the comments.
Semi-final 4 (31 May) Guest performance: Olly Murs ("Right Place Right Time")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult Club Town Freaks 1Vocal Group1.3% 9th - Eliminated Alex Keirl 2Singer21.4% 2nd (Lost Judges' vote) Shockarellas 3Dance Group3.4% 6th - Eliminated Poppin'Ron 4Bodypopper2.1% 8th - Eliminated James More 5Illusionist14.3% 4th - Eliminated Chasing The Dream 6Theatre Group2.2% 7th - Eliminated Francine Lewis 7Impressionist23.2% 1st (Won Public vote) Asanda 8Singer19.4% 3rd (Won Judges' vote) AJ & Chloe 9Latin Dance Duo12.7% 5th - Eliminated
Semi-final 5 (1 June) Guest performance: Ashleigh and Pudsey
ArtistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult CEO Dancers 1Dance Trio1.2% 7th - Eliminated Aliki 2Singer6.6% 4th - Eliminated The Glambassadors 3Dance Group1.1% 8th - Eliminated Steve Hewlett 4Ventriloquist12.0% 3rd (Judges' vote tied - Lost on Public vote) Rob's Duelling Pianos 5Pianist0.4% 9th - Eliminated Maarty Broekman 6Singer & Keytar Musician2.0% 6th - Eliminated Gospel Singers Incognito 7Gospel Choir2.5% 5th - Eliminated Jordan O'Keefe 8Singer & Guitarist15.1% 2nd (Judges' vote tied - Won on Public vote) Attraction 9Shadow Theatre Group59.1% 1st (Won Public vote)
Steve Hewlett was later sent through to the final as the judges wildcard.
Final (8 June) Guest performances: Psy ("Gentleman") & Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran ("Everything Has Changed")
FinalistOrderPerformance TypePercentageFinished Pre-Skool 1Dance Group2.8% 9th Asanda 2Singer1.2% 11th Gabz 3Singer & Pianist3.6% 7th Steve Hewlett 4Ventriloquist14.7% 4th Jordan O'Keefe 5Singer & Guitarist3.7% 6th Arisxandra 6Singer2.9% 8th Francine Lewis 7Impressionist2.0% 10th Richard & Adam 8Opera Singing Duo15.4% 3rd Jack Carroll 9Stand Up Comedian20.1% 2nd Luminites 10Band6.8% 5th Attraction 11Shadow Theatre Group27.0% 1st
Ratings
Episode Date Total ITV viewers (millions) Weekly rank Share (%) Auditions 1 13 April 12.13 1 36.9 Auditions 2 20 April 11.86 1 43.9 Auditions 3 27 April 11.08 1 43.9 Auditions 4 4 May 11.59 1 45.0 Auditions 5 11 May 12.36 1 45.2 Auditions 6 18 May 10.88 1 38.1 Auditions 7 26 May 9.74 3 38.0 Semi-final 127 May 11.48 1 41.5 Semi-final 1 results 9.27 10 31.4 Semi-final 228 May 10.20 6 36.5 Semi-final 2 results 8.39 14 28.5 Semi-final 330 May 9.76 8 37.5 Semi-final 3 results 8.51 13 32.3 Semi-final 431 May 9.98 7 37.5 Semi-final 4 results 8.71 12 32.7 Semi-final 51 June 9.74 9 41.9 Semi-final 5 results 9.04 11 32.8 Live final 8 June 12.85 1 48.9
Criticism & incidents Unsuitable, and "sexualised" auditions The seventh series faced criticism from viewers, covering two sets of complaints regarding auditions that were conducted in the 2013 contest. The first set concerned the nature of auditions made by Scarlet Cuffs, Keri Graham and Kelly Fox, that were deemed unsuitable for a family-orientated programme and for broadcast before the 9pm watershed - both Cuffs and Graham conducted a provocative striptease as part of their auditions, while Fox used lyrics that were considered vulgar. Ofcom investigated the editing of the auditions by the striptease acts, and ruled that while Graham's had been carefully censored to an acceptable level, they found in contrast that censoring of Cuffs' audition was insufficient and that the footage breached broadcasting codes in regards to protecting children from unsuitable content, with it made clear that the act should not have been shown. Fox refuted criticism on her performance, yet a member of the National Association of Head Teachers raised questions over the "morality" of allowing the audition footage to be shown.
The second set focused on the audition of two young children, Arisxandra Libantino, and Asanda, who used songs in their performances that were deemed inappropriate for their age - Libantino's performance involved singing Jennifer Hudson's "One Night Only", while Asanda's involved the singing of Rihanna's "Diamonds" alongside a provocative dance routine. The release of the footage by ITV raised questions from Vivienne Pattison, director of Mediawatch UK, over the programme's portrayal of children, deeming the auditions as effectively "sexualising children" on television.
Cowell's "egg attack" in final