Britain's Got Talent series 14
The fourteenth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, but in two parts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom during that year which affected production on the programme. The first half consisted of audition episodes that had already been filmed, which were aired between 11 April to 30 May 2020. The second half consisted of the remaining episodes when production could resume, and were aired between 30 August to 10 October 2020.[1] The series was notable for Simon Cowell's absence from the semi-finals and final after he sustained an injury following an accident in August, forcing him to be replaced by Ashley Banjo. He still appeared in the audition episodes as they had been filmed and aired before his injury.[2] Before Cowell's injury, it was intended for him to be virtually present for the semi-finals because of travel restrictions and his commitments to America's Got Talent.
| Britain's Got Talent | |
|---|---|
| Series 14 | |
| Presented by | Ant & Dec |
| Judges | David Walliams Alesha Dixon Amanda Holden Simon Cowell (auditions) Ashley Banjo (semi-finals and final) |
| Winner | Jon Courtenay |
| Runner-up | Sign Along with Us |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV ITV Hub (BGT: Unseen) |
| Original release | 11 April – 10 October 2020 |
| Series chronology | |
| List of episodes | |
The semi-finals and the final incorporated a number of safety measures, including the use of a virtual audience and physical distancing amongst hosts, judges, participants, and staff, with all episodes being aired weekly - a first in the programme's history. In addition, semi-finals were pre-recorded, changing the voting format as a result, including the results of public votes being announced in the final. Following the previous series, the programme's sister show, Britain's Got More Talent, was effectively cancelled and was replaced by a new online spin-off, titled Britain's Got Talent: Unseen, featuring auditions not aired in the main programme. The spin-off didn't return the following series for unknown reasons.
The fourteenth series was won by comedic pianist and singer Jon Courtenay, becoming the first golden buzzer act to do so, with sign-language choir Sign Along With Us finishing in second place and comedian Steve Royle third. During its broadcast, the series averaged around 8.17 million viewers, despite the split in the broadcast schedule.
Series overview edit
The judges auditions took place between January and February 2020, within London and Manchester. Prior to the start of production, staff had begun contemplating the future of its sister show, Britain's Got More Talent, in regards to its viewing figures and changes in viewing habits by its audience following the conclusion of the previous series. In October 2019, the decision was made to cancel the programme, and by 2020 it was decided that notable, yet unaired auditions for the fourteenth series would be made available via a new online spin-off titled Britain's Got Talent: Unseen.[3]
Production on the series was dramatically impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, which was already affecting media productions across the world. While audition episodes had been pre-recorded and thus were aired as planned, British government measures implemented to prevent the spread of the infection effectively halted work on all live television productions. ITV was forced to split the series into two parts, and went into discussion with the production company over how to produce and air the second half of the competition within a safe working environment and ongoing monitoring of the pandemic.[4] In May 2020, Amanda Holden indicated that production on the remainder of the series would resume in Autumn,[5] with producers confirming in August that the remaining episodes would be produced and aired across September and October that year.[6]
The broadcast schedule for the remaining episodes was revised, switching from being aired over the course of a single week, to a weekly arrangement, with only the final being aired live - the rest would be pre-recorded before their broadcast date. The format for these episodes was also drastically changed to provide a safe environment for staff, judges, hosts and participants: each round would be confined to a closed set; the judges would each have a separate judging desk; and a virtual audience would be present for each performance, in a similar arrangement used for the fifteenth season of America's Got Talent. Staff also arranged for large-scale performances to be altered in order to avoid mass gatherings; some had their routines pre-recorded in advance. The advancement of semi-finalists to the final stage of the contest was also changed. Instead of the original format used in previous series, judges would have first vote, choosing their top three acts in each semi-final and voting on which one of these would be sent to the finals, with the remainder from that semi-final, including those not voted for by the judges, facing a public vote to secure an additional place in the live final over the weekend of the episode's broadcast. The results of all five public votes would then be unveiled at the beginning of the live final.
One complication arose in August, when Simon Cowell became involved in an accident that left him suffering a back injury, and which required him to undergo surgery.[7][8][9] Because doctors had advised him to not be involved in further television work until he recovered - his accident had already impacted his involvement in the live rounds for America's Got Talent that year - producers decided on bringing in street dancer and former BGT winner Ashley Banjo to act as a guest judge in place of Cowell during his absence.[10] In addition, Holden was promoted to head judge for the semi-finals, effectively allowing her to make the casting decision in the event of a tied vote between the judges' top three semi-finalists.[11]
Of the participants that took part, only forty made it into the five semi-finals - of these acts, singer Fayth Ifil, singing duet Honey & Sammy, comic singer & pianist Jon Courtenay, stand-up comedian Nabil Abdulrashid, and sign language choir Sign Along with Us,[12] each received a golden buzzer during their auditions - with eight appearing in each one, and ten of these acts making it into the live final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:
- Winner | Runner-up | Third Place | Finalist
- Semi-finalist | Golden Buzzer Audition
| Participant [12] | Age(s) 1 | Genre | Act | Semi-final | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron & Jasmine | 28 & 32 | Dance | Latin Dance Duo | 2 | Finalist |
| Aidan McCann | 11 | Magic | Close Up Magician | 5 | Finalist |
| Allan Finnegan | 52 | Comedy | Stand Up Comedian | 2 | Eliminated |
| Amanda & Miracle | 49 & 7 | Magic / Animals | Magician & Dog Handler | 2 | Eliminated |
| Belinda Davids | 43 | Singing | Singer | 4 | Eliminated |
| Beth Porch | 25 | Singing / Music | Singer & Guitarist | 5 | Eliminated |
| Bhim Niroula | 54 | Singing | Singer | 3 | Eliminated |
| Billy & Chantelle | 14 & 12 | Dance | Contemporary Dance Duo | 4 | Eliminated |
| Chineke! Junior Orchestra | 11–22 | Music | Orchestra | 4 | Eliminated |
| Class Dynamix | 9–11 | Singing | Choir | 2 | Eliminated |
| Crissy Lee | 77 | Music | Drummer | 5 | Eliminated |
| Damien O'Brien | 34 | Magic | Close Up Magician | 2 | Finalist |
| Dario the Dinosaur | – | Singing / Music | Singer & Keyboardist | 3 | Eliminated |
| Ember Trio | 26–31 | Music | String Trio | 3 | Eliminated |
| Fayth Ifil | 13 | Singing | Singer | 1 | Eliminated |
| Håkan Berg | 43 | Animals / Magic | Bird Magician | 5 | Eliminated |
| Honey & Sammy | 15 & 43 | Singing | Singing Duo | 2 | Eliminated |
| Imen Siar | 21 | Singing | Singer | 1 | Eliminated |
| James & Dylan Piper | 38 & 12 | Magic | Magic Duo | 1 | Finalist |
| James Stott | 35 | Danger / Magic | Stunt Magician | 1 | Eliminated |
| Jasper Cherry | 14 | Magic | Close Up Magician | 4 | Finalist |
| Jon Courtenay | 46 | Comedy / Singing / Music | Comic Singer & Pianist | 4 | Winner |
| Katherine & Joe O’Malley | 36 & 59 | Singing / Dance | Singer & Tap Dancer | 4 | Eliminated |
| Kevin Quantum | 39 | Danger / Magic | Stunt Magician | 4 | Eliminated |
| Magical Bones | 37 | Magic | Magician | 3 | Finalist |
| Myra Dubois | 32 | Comedy | Drag Comedian | 3 | Eliminated |
| Nabil Abdulrashid | 34 | Comedy | Stand Up Comedian | 5 | Finalist |
| Papi Flex | 26 | Acrobatics | Contortionist | 4 | Eliminated |
| Shalom Chorale | 17–40 | Singing | Gospel Choir | 5 | Eliminated |
| Sign Along with Us | 4–58 | Singing | Sign Language Choir | 3 | Runner-up |
| Sirine Jahangir | 15 | Singing / Music | Singer & Pianist | 3 | Eliminated |
| Soldiers of Swing | 31 & 41 | Singing | Swing Singing Duo | 5 | Eliminated |
| SOS from the Kids | 4–16 | Singing | Choir | 1 | Eliminated |
| Souparnika Nair | 10 | Singing | Musical Theatre Singer | 2 | Eliminated |
| Steve Royle | 51 | Comedy / Variety | Comic Juggler | 1 | Third place |
| The Coven | 10–19 | Dance | Dance Group | 2 | Eliminated |
| Urban Turtles | 26–28 | Dance | Dance Group | 1 | Eliminated |
| Wesley Williams | 22 | Danger | Unicyclist | 5 | Eliminated |
| X1X Crew | 13–28 | Acrobatics / Dance | Acrobatic Dance Group | 3 | Eliminated |
| Yakub | 11 | Dance | Dancer | 1 | Eliminated |
- ^1 Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this series.
- ^2 Actual information the performer behind this act was not disclosed during their time on the programme.
- ^3 Locations for members of this group were not disclosed during their time on the programme.
Semi-finals summary edit
- Buzzed out | Judges' vote | Won the Judges' Vote | Won the Public's Vote
- Lost Judges' Vote | Eliminated
Semi-final 1 (5 September) edit
Guest Performers: Diversity[13]
| Semi-Finalist [13] | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished [14] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banjo | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | |||
| Urban Turtles | 1 | 7th - Eliminated | ||||
| James & Dylan Piper | 2 | 1st - Advanced (Won Public Vote) | ||||
| Imen Siar | 3 | 6th - Eliminated | ||||
| Yakub | 4 | 2nd - Eliminated | ||||
| James Stott | 5 | 4th - Eliminated | ||||
| SOS from the Kids | 6 | 5th - Eliminated | ||||
| Fayth Ifil | 7 | 3rd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) | ||||
| Steve Royle | 8 | 4 | Advanced (Won Judges' Vote) | |||
- ^4 Holden did not cast her vote due to the majority support for Steve Royle from the other judges, but admitted her voting intention would have been for this semi-finalist.
Semi-final 2 (12 September) edit
Guest Performers: McFly & The NHS Choir ("Happiness") [15]
| Semi-Finalist [15] | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished [14] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banjo | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | |||
| Souparnika Nair | 1 | 3rd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) | ||||
| Damien O'Brien | 2 | 1st - Advanced (Won Public Vote) | ||||
| Class Dynamix | 3 | 6th - Eliminated | ||||
| Allan Finnegan | 4 | 7th - Eliminated | ||||
| Amanda & Miracle | 5 | 4th - Eliminated | ||||
| Aaron & Jasmine | 6 | Advanced (Won Judges' Vote) 5 | ||||
| Honey & Sammy | 7 | 5th - Eliminated | ||||
| The Coven | 8 | 2nd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) 5 | ||||
- ^5 Due to a tied Judges' Vote, Holden cast the deciding vote for Aaron & Jasmine.
Semi-final 3 (19 September) edit
Guest Performers: James Arthur & Sigala ("Lasting Lover")[16]
| Semi-Finalist [16] | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished [14] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banjo | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | |||
| Myra Dubois | 1 | 5th - Eliminated | ||||
| Magical Bones | 2 | 6 | Advanced (Won Judges' Vote) | |||
| Ember Trio | 3 | 4th - Eliminated | ||||
| Sign Along with Us | 4 | 1st - Advanced (Won Public Vote) | ||||
| Dario the Dinosaur | 5 | 6th - Eliminated | ||||
| Sirine Jahangir | 6 | 6 | 2nd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) | |||
| X1X Crew | 7 | 3rd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) | ||||
| Bhim Niroula | 8 | 7th - Eliminated | ||||
- ^6 Holden did not cast her vote due to the majority support for Magical Bones from the other judges, but admitted her voting intention would have been for Sirine Jahangir.
Semi-final 4 (26 September) edit
Guest Performers: Michael Ball & the London cast of Hairspray ("Good Morning Baltimore"/"You Can't Stop the Beat")[17]
| Semi-Finalist [17] | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished [14] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banjo | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | |||
| Billy & Chantelle | 1 | 4th - Eliminated | ||||
| Chineke! Junior Orchestra | 2 | 3rd - Eliminated | ||||
| Katherine & Joe O’Malley | 3 | 7th - Eliminated | ||||
| Kevin Quantum | 4 | 5th - Eliminated | ||||
| Jon Courtenay | 5 | Advanced (Won Judges' Vote) | ||||
| Jasper Cherry | 6 | 1st - Advanced (Won Public Vote) | ||||
| Papi Flex | 7 | 6th - Eliminated | ||||
| Belinda Davids | 8 | 2nd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) | ||||
Semi-final 5 (3 October) edit
Guest Performers: Colin Thackery & The Kingdom Choir, and Amanda Holden[18]
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished [14] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banjo | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | |||
| Soldiers of Swing | 1 | 5th - Eliminated | ||||
| Håkan Berg | 2 | 4th - Eliminated | ||||
| Shalom Chorale | 3 | 6th - Eliminated | ||||
| Wesley Williams | 4 | 7 | 3rd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) | |||
| Crissy Lee | 5 | 7th - Eliminated | ||||
| Nabil Abdulrashid | 6 | 7 | Advanced (Won Judges' Vote) | |||
| Aidan McCann | 7 | 1st - Advanced (Won Public Vote) | ||||
| Beth Porch | 8 | 2nd - Eliminated | ||||
- ^7 Holden did not cast her vote due to the majority support for Nabil Abdulrashid from the other judges, but admitted her voting intention would have been for Wesley Williams.
Final (10 October) edit
Guest Performers: The cast of Les Misérables, Mary Poppins & The Phantom of the Opera
- Winner | Runner-up
| Finalist [14] | Order | Finished [14] |
|---|---|---|
| Aidan McCann | 1 | 7th |
| Aaron & Jasmine | 2 | 10th |
| Damien O'Brien | 3 | 6th |
| Steve Royle | 4 | 3rd |
| Magical Bones | 5 | 9th |
| Sign Along with Us | 6 | 2nd |
| James & Dylan Piper | 7 | 5th |
| Nabil Abdulrashid | 8 | 4th |
| Jasper Cherry | 9 | 8th |
| Jon Courtenay | 10 | 1st |
Ratings edit
| Episode | Air date | Total viewers (millions)[19] | ITV Weekly rank[19] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auditions 1 | 11 April | 11.38 | 1 |
| Auditions 2 | 18 April | 10.76 | 1 |
| Auditions 3 | 25 April | 10.34 | 1 |
| Auditions 4 | 2 May | 10.08 | 1 |
| Auditions 5 | 9 May | 9.36 | 1 |
| Auditions 6 | 16 May | 9.27 | 1 |
| Auditions 7 | 23 May | 9.06 | 1 |
| Auditions 8 | 30 May | 7.99 | 1 |
| The Finalists Revealed | 30 August | 5.24 | 7 |
| Semi-final 1 | 5 September | 7.49 | 1 |
| Semi-final 2 | 12 September | 6.34 | 4 |
| Semi-final 3 | 19 September | 5.77 | 9 |
| Semi-final 4 | 26 September | 6.28 | 5 |
| Semi-final 5 | 3 October | 5.98 | 9 |
| Final | 10 October | 7.25 | 1 |
Criticism edit
During the fourteenth series of Britain's Got Talent, racial issues were made key elements in complaints made by viewers regarding performances that were broadcast during the final rounds of the competition. In the first semi-final, aired on 5 September 2020, guest performer Diversity performed a dance routine inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, which, despite being praised, received criticism from some viewers.[20] The regulator Ofcom initially received over a thousand complaints to begin with, before this increased to around 24,500 based on news stories covering the original number of complaints. However, the regulator rejected all complaints on 17 September, ruling that the criticism was unfounded and that the performance had been aiming to promote "social cohesion and unity", adding that "freedom of expression is particularly important in the context of artistic works".[21]
In contrast, comedian Nabil Abdulrashid received considerable criticism over his performances in the semi-final and final. Although he was overwhelmed by the support he received for his comedic talent, Abdulrashid admitted in an interview that some of his work had led him to receive racial abuse and death threats because of his open support for Black Lives Matter. His routines themselves later saw Ofcom receive around 3,000 complaints over the nature of his jokes being aired on a family programme, yet the regulator rejected these on grounds that the comedian had performed within acceptable boundaries.[22]
References edit
- ^ "Britain's Got Talent Episode 1". Press Centre. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- ^ "Ashley Banjo to step in for Simon Cowell for Britain's Got Talent semi-finals". Press Centre. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- ^ Lewis, Isobel (27 March 2020). "Stephen Mulhern claims judges didn't want Britain's Got More Talent axed". Metro. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ^ Stolworthy, Jacob (24 March 2020). "Britain's Got Talent: ITV delays live finals due to coronavirus". The Independent. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- ^ Thomas Ling (7 May 2020). "Britain's Got Talent 2020 judges 'given date' for live shows to return this year". radiotimes.com.
- ^ Lauren Morris (17 August 2020). "Britain's Got Talent 2020 guide - Full list of acts and 2020 live shows return date". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ Kim Willis; Bill Keveney (9 August 2020). "Simon Cowell breaks his back falling off electric bicycle, will miss this week's AGT live shows". USA Today. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ Karen Mizoguchi (8 August 2020). "AGT's Simon Cowell Hospitalized After Falling Off Bike in Malibu: He 'Will Be Having Surgery'". People. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ Nellie Andreeva (9 August 2020). "Simon Cowell To Skip America's Got Talent Live Shows While Recovering From Back Surgery". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ Helen Daly (23 August 2020). "Britain's Got Talent confirms Simon Cowell's replacement for live finals". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ "Britain's Got Talent 2020's Amanda Holden appointed head judge in Simon Cowell's absence". Radio Times.
- ^ a b Patrick McLennan (30 August 2020). "Britain's Got Talent 2020 reveals the 40 semi-final acts on ITV". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ^ a b Josh Darvill (5 September 2020). "Britain's Got Talent 2020 start time, tonight's line up and guest performers". tellymix.co.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g Josh Darvill (11 October 2020). "Britain's Got Talent 2020 results: Full voting figures and percentages revealed". tellymix.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- ^ a b Josh Darvill (12 September 2020). "Who's on Britain's Got Talent 2020 tonight? Second semi-final line up revealed". tellymix.co.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ a b Josh Darvill (19 September 2020). "Who's on Britain's Got Talent 2020 tonight? Third semi-final line up revealed". tellymix.co.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ a b Josh Darvill (26 September 2020). "Who's on Britain's Got Talent 2020 tonight? Fourth semi-final line up revealed". tellymix.co.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ @AmandaHolden (3 October 2020). "I'm stepping out of the judges chair and onto the @BGT stage tonight!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "BARB Weekly Top Programmes on Four Screens". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.
- ^ "BGT: Diversity BLM performance attracts complaints to Ofcom". www.bbc.com/news. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- ^ Jim Waterson (17 September 2020). "Ofcom REJECTS Complaints About 'BGT' Performance". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- ^ Lanre Bakare (2 November 2020). "'BGT' Finalist Has Received Death Threats". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.