Britain's Got Talent (series 12)


The twelfth series of Britain's Got Talent, a British talent competition series, began broadcasting in the UK during 2018, from 14 April to 3 June on ITV. For this series, the live episodes were broadcast from Hammersmith Apollo, and presented by Declan Donnelly only; while Anthony 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 reggae singer Donchez Dacres in third place. During its broadcast, the series averaged 8.34 million viewers.

Series overview

Open auditions were held the previous year between October to 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:
ParticipantAge GenreActFromSemi-finalResult
Acrocadabra 9–17AcrobaticsAcrobatics GroupBirmingham3
Aleksandar Mileusnić23SingingSingerStevenage, Hertfordshire3
Amy Marie Borg16SingingOpera SingerMalta4
Andrew Lancaster32ComedyImpressionistLancashire2
B Positive Choir 22–62SingingChoirVarious 2'
Baba Yega21–33DanceDance GroupBelgium4
Bring It North 10–11SingingBoybandBuckingham, Buckinghamshire5
Cali Swing9–14DanceSalsa Dance GroupLondon1
Calum Courtney10SingingSingerEssex2'
DeMille & Muoneké 22, 51SingingJazz Singing DuetWeston-super-Mare, Somerset5
DMU Gospel Choir16–55SingingGospel ChoirLeicester, Leicestershire3
Donchez Dacres 60SingingReggae SingerWolverhampton, West Midlands2'
DVJ10–18DanceStreet Dance GroupVarious 4'
Ellie & Jeki29, 34MagicQuick-Change DuoSouth Korea1
Father Ray Kelly64SingingSingerOldcastle, Republic of Ireland5
Futunity8–24DanceDance GroupLondon2
Giang Brothers29–33AcrobaticsHand Balancing DuoVietnam5'
Gruffydd Wyn Roberts 22SingingOpera SingerAnglesey, Wales3'
Jack & Tim 12, 43Singing / MusicSingers & Guitarists DuoNorwich, Norfolk4'
Lexie & Christopher10, 10DanceLatin Dance DuoManchester & Sheffield5
Lifford Shillingford 42SingingSingerLondon1
Lost Voice Guy37ComedyStand-up ComedianNewcastle upon Tyne1'
Maddox Dixon31MagicClose-up MagicianBuckingham, Buckinghamshire1
Magus Utopia24–40MagicIllusionistsNetherlands2
Mandy Muden55Magic / ComedyComic MagicianLondon5
Marc Spelmann 46MagicMagicianLondon3
Marty Putz55ComedyComedianCanada4
Matt Johnson43DangerEscape ArtistRotherham, South Yorkshire1
Micky P Kerr36Singing / Music / ComedyComic Singer & GuitaristLeeds, West Yorkshire5'
Mr Uekusa30VarietyVariety PerformerJapan3
Nick Page47ComedyStand-up ComedianGloucestershire2
Noel James52ComedyComedianWales4
Olena Uutai31MusicJaw HarpistRussia4
Rise Unbroken 10–24DanceDance GroupSheffield, South Yorkshire3
Robert White41Singing / Music / ComedyComic Singer & PianistWest Sussex3'
Ronan Busfield33SingingMusical Theatre SingerBedfordshire2
Sarah Llewellyn32Singing / VarietyOpera Singer & ContortionistUnited States5
Sascha Williams29DangerBalancing AcrobatAustralia4
Shameer Rayes19DanceDancerManchester1
The D-Day Darlings27–39SingingVocal GroupWarwickshire1

Semi-final 1 (28 May)

Guest Performers, Results Show:Diversity, and cast of Matilda the Musical
Guest Performer, Results Show: Alfie Boe
Guest Performer, Results Show: Rita Ora

Semi-final 4 (31 May)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Cast of Chicago
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 Performer, Results Show: Tokio Myers

Final (3 June)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Cast of Tina: The Musical, and cast of Magic Mike Live
FinalistOrderActFinished
Calum Courtney1Singer9th
The D-Day Darlings2Vocal Group7th
Jack & Tim3Singers & Guitarists Duo8th
Robert White4Comic Singer & Pianist2nd
B Positive Choir5Choir11th
Lost Voice Guy6Stand-up Comedian1st
Giang Brothers7Hand Balancing Duo5th
Gruffydd Wyn Roberts8Opera Singer4th
DVJ9Street Dance Group6th
Micky P Kerr10Comic Singer & Guitarist10th
Donchez Dacres11Reggae Singer3rd

Ratings


EpisodeAir dateTotal viewers ITV Weekly rank
Auditions 110.981
Auditions 210.501
Auditions 311.481
Auditions 49.611
Auditions 59.551
Auditions 69.041
Auditions 77.834
Semi-final 128 May7.2212
Semi-final 1 results28 May6.7214
Semi-final 229 May7.789
Semi-final 2 results29 May6.1219
Semi-final 330 May8.128
Semi-final 3 results30 May6.8013
Semi-final 431 May7.5611
Semi-final 4 results31 May6.4018
Semi-final 51 June7.5810
Semi-final 5 results1 June6.6315
Final3 June10.151

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".