The twelfth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, from 14 April to 3 June 2018. For this series, the live episodes were broadcast from Hammersmith Apollo, and presented by Dec Donnelly only; while Ant McPartlin suspended his TV commitments on 19 March 2018, he still appeared in the audition episodes as these had already been filmed in January and February earlier that year. Compared to previous years, this series featured a higher number of participants for the judges to select semi-finalists from, not counting those who received the Golden Buzzer, and saw the return of the Judges' Vote to the show's format.
The twelfth series was won by stand-up comedian Lost Voice Guy, with comic singer & pianist Robert White finishing in second place and singer Donchez Dacres third. During its broadcast, the series averaged 8.34 million viewers.
Series overview Open auditions were held the previous year between October and December, before the Judges' auditions took place between January and February 2018, within the cities of Blackpool, London and Manchester. This series is notable for the absence of Anthony McPartlin in the live episodes, after he stepped down from his TV commitments in the aftermath of a traffic accident on 18 March 2018 that he was involved in. While McPartlin still appeared during audition episodes on both Britain's Got Talent and Britain's Got More Talent, as these had already been filmed prior to the start of the series' broadcast, his colleague Declan Donnelly chose to present the live episodes without him, in the wake of his colleague's decision.
This series saw a far higher number of participants making it through the first stage of auditions, than had been recorded in previous years - in addition to those receiving the Golden Buzzer, around 182 acts successfully reached the second stage. Following the eleventh series, the judges' vote was brought back for the semi-finals, after Cowell admitted in June 2017 that he disliked its removal from the show's format. Disruptions caused by bad weather resulted in the first live semi-final being taken off the air for a brief time, following the first performance, while a stage invader attempted to disrupt proceedings during the broadcast of the second live semi-final.
Of the participants that took part, only forty made it into the five live semi-finals - of these acts, reggae singer Donchez Dacres, opera singer Gruffydd Wyn Roberts, singer-guitarists duo Jack & Tim, singer Lifford Shillingford, and magician Marc Spelmann, 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 B Positive Choir, after they lost out in the tied Judges' vote in the second semi-final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:
Judges' Wildcard Finalist | Golden Buzzer Audition
Participant Age(s) GenrePerformance TypeSemi-finalResult Acrocadabra 9–17 Acrobatics Acrobatic Group 3 Aleksandar Mileusnić 23 Singing Swing Singer 3 Amy Marie Borg 16 Singing Opera Singer 4 Andrew Lancaster 32 Comedy Impressionist 2 B Positive Choir 22–62 Singing Choir 2 Baba Yega 21–33 Dance Dance Group 4 Bring It North 10–11 Singing Boy Band 5 Cali Swing 9–14 Dance Salsa Dance Group 1 Calum Courtney 10 Singing Singer 2 DeMille & Muoneké 22 & 51 Singing Jazz Singing Duo 5 DMU Gospel Choir 16–55 Singing Gospel Choir 3 Donchez Dacres 60 Singing Reggae Singer 2 Third Place DVJ 10–18 Dance Street Dance Group 4 Ellie & Jeki 29 & 34 Magic Quick Change Duo 1 Father Ray Kelly 64 Singing Singer 5 Futunity 8–24 Dance Dance Group 2 Giang Brothers 29–33Acrobatics Hand Balancing Duo 5 Gruffydd Wyn Roberts 22 Singing Opera Singer3 Jack & Tim 12 & 43 Singing / Music Singing & Guitarist Duo 4 Lexie & Christopher 10 & 10 Dance Ballroom Dance Duo 5 Lifford Shillingford 42 Singing Singer 1 Lost Voice Guy 37 Comedy Stand Up Comedian 1 Maddox Dixon 31 Magic Close Up Magician 1 Magus Utopia 24–40 Magic Magic Group 2 Mandy Muden 55 Comedy / Magic Comic Magician 5 Marc Spelmann 46 Magic Magician 3 Marty Putz 55 Comedy Comedian & Inventor 4 Matt Johnson 43 Danger Escape Artist 1 Micky P Kerr 36 Comedy / Singing / Music Comic Singer & Guitarist 5 Mr Uekusa 30 Variety Novelty Act 3 Nick Page 47 Comedy Stand Up Comedian 2 Noel James 52 Comedy Comedian 4 Olena Uutai 31 Music Jaw Harpist 4 Rise Unbroken 10–24 Dance Dance Group 3 Robert White 41 Comedy / Singing / Music Comic Singer & Keyboardist 3 Ronan Busfield 33 Singing Musical Theatre Singer 2 Sarah Llewellyn 32 Acrobatics / Singing Contortionist & Opera Singer 5 Sascha Williams 29 Acrobatics Rolla Bolla Acrobat 4 Shameer Rayes 19 Dance Dancer 1 The D-Day Darlings 27–39 Singing Vocal Harmony Group 1
Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this series. Each respective participant(s) auditioned under a different name, before changing them for their semi-final appearance. Locations for members of each respective group, or the group as a whole, were not disclosed during their time on the programme.
Semi-finals summary Buzzed out | Judges' vote |
Semi-final 1 (28 May) Guest performance: Diversity & The Cast Of Matilda the Musical ("Naughty"/"Revolting Children") Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and judges' votesPercentageFinished Cali Swing 1Salsa Dance Group3.9% 7th - Eliminated Lifford Shillingford 2Singer5.7% 6th - Eliminated Shameer Rayes 3Dancer8.1% 4th - Eliminated Maddox Dixon 4Close Up Magician13.5% 3rd (Lost Judges' Vote) Ellie & Jeki 5Quick Change Duo1.1% 8th - Eliminated Lost Voice Guy 6Stand Up Comedian40.5% 1st (Won Public Vote) Matt Johnson 7Escape Artist5.9% 5th - Eliminated The D-Day Darlings 8Vocal Group21.3% 2nd (Won Judges' Vote)
For health and safety reasons, Matt Johnson's semi-final performance required paramedics to be brought in as a precaution.
Semi-final 2 (29 May) Guest performance: Alfie Boe ("The Way You Look Tonight") Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and judges' votesPercentageFinished B Positive Choir 1Choir14.4% 3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote) Futunity 2Dance Group12.4% 4th - Eliminated Calum Courtney 3Singer16.1% 2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote) Andrew Lancaster 4Impressionist6.4% 7th - Eliminated Nick Page 5Stand Up Comedian3.9% 8th - Eliminated Ronan Busfield 6Musical Theatre Singer10.9% 6th - Eliminated Magus Utopia 7Magic Group11.8% 5th - Eliminated Donchez Dacres 8Reggae Singer24.1% 1st (Won Public Vote)
B Positive Choir were later sent through to the final as the judges' wildcard.
Semi-final 3 (30 May) Guest performance: Rita Ora ("Girls")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and judges' votesPercentageFinished Acrocadabra 1Acrobatic Group3.7% 6th - Eliminated DMU Gospel Choir 2Gospel Choir3.2% 7th - Eliminated Marc Spelmann 3Magician18.0% 3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote) Mr Uekusa 4Novelty Act2.9% 8th - Eliminated Aleksandar Mileusnić 5Swing Singer9.4% 4th - Eliminated Robert White 6Comic Singer & Keyboardist30.2% 1st (Won Public Vote) Rise Unbroken 7Dance Group8.5% 5th - Eliminated Gruffydd Wyn Roberts 8Opera Singer24.1% 2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote)
Semi-final 4 (31 May) Guest performance: Cast of Chicago ("All I Care About"/"When You're Good to Mama"/"All That Jazz")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and judges' votesPercentageFinished Olena Uutai 1Jaw Harpist3.1% 8th - Eliminated Amy Marie Borg 2Opera Singer7.4% 5th - Eliminated Noel James 3Comedian12.2% 3rd (Lost Judges' Vote) Baba Yega 4Dance Group6.5% 6th - Eliminated Jack & Tim 5Singing & Guitarist Duo24.1% 2nd (Won Judges' Vote) Sascha Williams 6Rolla Bolla Acrobat8.9% 4th - Eliminated Marty Putz 7Comedian & Inventor5.2% 7th - Eliminated DVJ 8Street Dance Group32.6% 1st (Won Public Vote)
For health and safety reasons, Sascha William's semi-final performance required fire extinguishers to be on standby as a precaution.
Semi-final 5 (1 June) Guest performance: Tokio Myers ("Children")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and judges' votesPercentageFinished DeMille & Muoneké 1Jazz Singing Duo9.1% 6th - Eliminated Lexie & Christopher 2Ballroom Dance Duo5.8% 7th - Eliminated Micky P Kerr 3Comic Singer & Guitarist21.5% 1st (Won Public Vote) Sarah Llewellyn 4Opera Singer & Contortionist1.5% 8th - Eliminated Bring It North 5Boy Band9.1% 5th - Eliminated Mandy Muden 6Comic Magician19.4% 3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote) Father Ray Kelly 7Singer13.5% 4th - Eliminated Giang Brothers 8Hand Balancing Duo20.1% 2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote)
Final (3 June) Guest performances: The Cast of Tina: The Musical ("Nutbush City Limits"/"Proud Mary") & The Cast of Magic Mike Live
Finalist Order Performance Type Percentage Finished Calum Courtney 1Singer3.5% 9th The D-Day Darlings 2Vocal Group7.1% 7th Jack & Tim 3Singing & Guitarist Duo 6.2% 8th Robert White 4Comic Singer & Keyboardist17.2% 2nd B Positive Choir 5Choir2.7% 11th Lost Voice Guy 6Stand Up Comedian21.0% 1st Giang Brothers 7Hand Balancing Duo9.5% 5th Gruffydd Wyn Roberts 8Opera Singer11.2% 4th DVJ 9Street Dance Group7.1% 6th Micky P Kerr 10Comic Singer & Guitarist3.3% 10th Donchez Dacres 11Reggae Singer11.2% 3rd
Ratings
Episode Air date Total viewers (millions) ITVWeekly rank Auditions 1 10.98 1 Auditions 2 10.50 1 Auditions 3 11.48 1 Auditions 4 9.61 1 Auditions 5 9.55 1 Auditions 6 9.04 1 Auditions 7 7.83 4 Semi-final 1 28 May 7.22 12 Semi-final 1 results 6.72 14 Semi-final 2 29 May 7.78 9 Semi-final 2 results 6.12 19 Semi-final 3 30 May 8.12 8 Semi-final 3 results 6.80 13 Semi-final 4 31 May 7.56 11 Semi-final 4 results 6.40 18 Semi-final 5 1 June 7.58 10 Semi-final 5 results 6.63 15 Final 3 June 10.15 1
Criticism Viewers criticised BGTs twelfth series over two separate matters. The first concerned one of the golden buzzers conducted in the auditions for the twelfth series for singer Lifford Shillingford as being a "fix". Viewers complained on social media that he maintained a close connection to judge Alesha Dixon, who provided the buzzer, and thus had an unfair advantage over other participants. Both Dixon and Shillingford denied the allegations, which focused on comments made by the judge over the singer's performance, clarifying that while they knew each other, it was through their mutual work in the music industry and not from a close friendship.
The second concerned the guest performance by the cast members of the musical Magic Mike for the live final. The complaint centered around the suitability of the performance for a "family-based show", including the nature of the performers' routines and the overall tone of the performance. In response, the broadcaster refuted the allegations against the guest performers involvement, making clear that the content had been checked thoroughly to ensure it was suitable for young viewers and had met strict "compliance guidelines".
References