The eighth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, from 12 April to 7 June 2014; because of England's international friendly with Peru, the show took a break on 30 May to avoid clashing with live coverage of the match. Auditions were held in Northern Ireland instead of Scotland for this series, with hosts Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially known as Ant & Dec) having to stand in for Simon Cowell, after illness forced him to be absent during a day of auditions.[1] This series was the first in the programme's history to introduce the "Golden Buzzer" format to the competition – an element that was being introduced to the Got Talent franchise since it was first introduced on Germany's Got Talent in 2012.[2][3]
| Britain's Got Talent | |
|---|---|
| Series 8 | |
| Presented by | Ant & Dec (ITV) Stephen Mulhern (ITV2) |
| Judges | David Walliams Alesha Dixon Amanda Holden Simon Cowell |
| Winner | Collabro |
| Runner-up | Lucy Kay |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV ITV2 (BGMT) |
| Original release | 12 April – 7 June 2014 |
| Series chronology | |
.jpg)
_(cropped).JPG)
The eighth series was won by boy band Collabro, with opera singer Lucy Kay finishing in second place and singing and rapping duo Bars and Melody third. During its broadcast, the series averaged around 9.8 million viewers.
Series overview edit
Following open auditions held the previous year between 19 October to 1 December 2013 in various cities,[4] which included auditions held at a series of "Talent Spot tents" provided by the show's sponsor that year,[5] and at The Savoy Hotel in Blackpool and The Old Ship Hotel in Brighton, the Judges' auditions took place between January and February 2014, within Belfast,[6] London,[7] Manchester, Birmingham,[8][9] and Cardiff.[10] For the first time since the first series, auditions didn't take place in Scotland, as the show's producers wished to try new locations for talent, which led to them opting to hold auditions within Northern Ireland for the first time as a result.[11] Due to illness, Simon Cowell was forced to be absent from a day of auditions in Manchester to recover, leading to hosts Ant & Dec each standing in for him,[1] while on the final day of auditions in London, Cowell was forced to be absent for them to attend to his girlfriend Lauren Silverman, who had gone into labour that day; the show's production team chose not to bring in a stand-in because of this.[12]
By the time that the public auditions for the eighth series' competition had begun, the Got Talent franchise was beginning to update its format for auditions across international editions through the inclusion of a new feature – the "Golden Buzzer". First introduced on Germany's Got Talent, the new format meant that those auditioning for a place in the live rounds of the competition for this year could earn an automatic place in the live rounds from any of the judges or the hosts, regardless of the opinions about their performance. Although the judges and hosts had permission to use the buzzer, Stephen Mulhern was not allowed to use it, despite his involvement in overseeing auditions for Britain's Got More Talent.[2][3]
Of the participants that took part, forty-five made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals-[13] amongst these, salsa dancing duo Paddy & Nico,[14] hip hop duo Bars & Melody,[15] singer Christian Spridon,[16] girl group REAformed,[17] and stand-up comedian/impressionist Toju,[18] each received a golden buzzer during their auditions (by Holden, Cowell, Walliams, Dixon and Ant & Dec respectively) – 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 impressionist Jon Clegg, after he lost out in the tied Judges' vote in the first semi-final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:
- Winner | Runner-up | Finalist | Semi-finalist
Judges' Wildcard Finalist | 
Golden Buzzer Audition
| Participant | Age(s) 1 | Genre | Act | Semi-final | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allan Turner-Ward | 37 | Music | DJ | 4 | Eliminated |
| Andrew Derbyshire | 31 | Singing | Singer | 5 | Eliminated |
| Bailey McConnell | 15 | Singing / Music | Singer & Guitarist | 5 | Eliminated |
Bars & Melody  | 13 & 15 | Singing | Rapper & Singer | 4 | Finalist |
| BoldDog FMX Team | 24–48 | Danger | Motorbike Stunt Team | 2 | Eliminated |
| Brian Chan | 25 | Variety | Painter | 3 | Eliminated |
| Cartel | 16–27 | Dance | Dance Group | 3 | Eliminated |
| Christian Spridon | 36 | Singing | Singer | 1 | Eliminated |
| Collabro | 20–24 | Singing | Singing Group | 1 | Winner |
| Country Vive | 16–35 | Dance | Country Dance Group | 1 | Eliminated |
| Crazy Rouge | 21–26 | Dance | Burlesque Dance Group | 3 | Eliminated |
| Darcy Oake | 26 | Magic | Magician | 1 | Finalist |
| Ed Drewett | 26 | Singing | Singer | 2 | Eliminated |
| Ellis Chick | 12 | Singing | Singer | 3 | Eliminated |
| Eva Iglesias | 40 | Singing | Singer | 4 | Eliminated |
| Henrietta Adewole | 18 | Singing | Singer | 1 | Eliminated |
| Innova Irish Dance Company | 14–23 | Dance | Irish Dance Group | 4 | Eliminated |
| Jack Pack | 24–33 | Singing | Jazz Vocal Group | 5 | Finalist |
| James Smith | 15 | Singing / Music | Singer & Guitarist | 2 | Finalist |
| Jenson Zhu | 37 | Comedy | Impressionist | 5 | Eliminated |
| Jodi Bird | 16 | Singing | Musical Theatre Singer | 2 | Eliminated |
Jon Clegg  | 43 | Comedy | Impressionist | 1 | Finalist |
| Kieran & Sarah | 26 & 28 | Singing | Opera Singing Duo | 4 | Eliminated |
| Kieran Lai | 17 | Dance | Bodypopper | 5 | Eliminated |
| Kings & Queens | 18–29 | Dance | Latin Dance Group | 5 | Eliminated |
| Kitty & Rosie | 25 & 48 | Singing | Singing Duo | 3 | Eliminated |
| Kony Puppets | 32 | Comedy | Puppeteer | 2 | Eliminated |
| La Voix & LGBB | 26–52 | Singing / Music | Drag Singer & Orchestra | 5 | Eliminated |
| Lauren & Terrell | 12 & 12 | Dance | Street Dance Duo | 1 | Eliminated |
| Lettice Rowbotham | 24 | Music | Violinist | 4 | Finalist |
| Light Balance | 19–33 | Dance | Electronic Dance Group | 4 | Eliminated |
| Lucy Kay | 24 | Singing | Opera Singer | 3 | Runner-Up |
| Micky Dumoulin | 25 | Singing | Singer | 1 | Eliminated |
| Mini Moves | 11–12 | Dance | Dance Group | 2 | Eliminated |
| Paddy & Nico | 79 & 39 | Dance | Salsa Dance Duo | 5 | Finalist |
| Patsy May 2 | 44 | Singing | Singing Puppet | 1 | Eliminated |
| Peat Loaf & Elaine | 52 & 36 | Singing | Meat Loaf Singing Duo | 5 | Eliminated |
| Pyroterra | 19–26 | Dance / Danger | Fire Dance Group | 4 | Eliminated |
| Reaformed | 16–21 | Singing | Singing Trio | 3 | Eliminated |
| Ricky K | 33 | Comedy | Mime | 2 | Eliminated |
| Sam Jones | 21 | Comedy | Ventriloquist | 3 | Eliminated |
| SweetChix | 14–15 | Singing | Girl Band | 2 | Eliminated |
| The Addict Initiative | 17–31 | Dance | Dance Group | 2 | Finalist |
| Toju | 40 | Comedy | Stand Up Comedian | 4 | Eliminated |
| Yanis, Arnaud & Mehdi | 24–26 | Dance | Dance Trio | 3 | Finalist |
- ^1 Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this series.
- ^2 No information on the puppeteer for this act was disclosed by the show.
Semi-finals summary edit
Buzzed out | 
Judges' vote | Won the public vote- Won the judges' vote | Lost the judges' vote | Eliminated
Semi-final 1 (26 May) edit
- Guest performance: Ella Henderson ("Ghost")[19][non-primary source needed]
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result [20] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | |||
| Country Vive | 1 | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
| Micky Dumoulin | 2 | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
| Lauren & Terrell | 3 | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
| Patsy May | 4 | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
| Henrietta Adewole | 5 | 9th – Eliminated | ||||
| Jon Clegg 3 | 6 |  | | 3rd (Judges' vote tied – Lost on Public vote) | ||
| Darcy Oake | 7 | | | 2nd (Judges' vote tied – Won on Public vote) | ||
| Christian Spridon | 8 |  | 8th – Eliminated | |||
| Collabro | 9 | 1st (Won Public Vote) | ||||
- ^3 Jon Clegg was later sent through to the final as the judges wildcard.
Semi-final 2 (27 May) edit
- Guest performance: Ed Sheeran ("Sing")[21]
| Semi-Finalist [22] | Order | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result [20] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | |||
| Mini Moves | 1 | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
| Ed Drewett | 2 | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
| BoldDog FMX Team 4 | 3 | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
| Jodi Bird | 4 | | 2nd (Lost Judges' vote) | |||
| SweetChix | 5 | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
| Ricky K | 6 | | 8th – Eliminated | |||
| The Addict Initiative | 7 | | | | 3rd (Won Judges' vote) | |
| Kony Puppets | 8 | | | | | 9th – Eliminated |
| James Smith | 9 | 1st (Won Public vote) | ||||
- ^4 For health and safety reasons, Bolddog FMX Team's performance was pre-recorded outside the studio in advance.
Semi-final 3 (28 May) edit
- Guest performance: The Vamps ("Last Night")[23][non-primary source needed]
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result [20] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | |||
| Crazy Rouge | 1 | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
| Ellis Chick | 2 | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
| Sam Jones | 3 | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
| Reaformed | 4 | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
| Brian Chan | 5 | | | 9th – Eliminated | ||
| Cartel | 6 | | | 3rd (Judges' vote tied – Lost on Public vote) | ||
| Kitty & Rosie | 7 | 8th – Eliminated | ||||
| Lucy Kay | 8 | 1st (Won Public Vote) | ||||
| Yanis, Arnaud & Mehdi | 9 | | | 2nd (Judges' vote tied – Won on Public vote) | ||
Semi-final 4 (29 May) edit
- Guest performance: will.i.am & Cody Wise ("It's My Birthday")[24]
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result [20] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | |||
| Innova Irish Dance Company | 1 | | | 3rd (Judges' vote tied – Lost on Public vote) | ||
| Kieran & Sarah | 2 | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
| Pyroterra | 3 | 8th – Eliminated | ||||
| Toju | 4 | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
| Eva Iglesias | 5 | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
| Allan Turner-Ward | 6 | | 9th – Eliminated | |||
| Light Balance | 7 | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
| Bars & Melody | 8 | 1st (Won Public Vote) | ||||
| Lettice Rowbotham | 9 | | | 2nd (Judges' vote tied – Won on Public vote) | ||
Semi-final 5 (31 May) edit
- Guest performance: Attraction & Richard & Adam[25]
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result [20] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Walliams | |||
| La Voix & LGBB | 1 | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
| Bailey McConnell | 2 | | 3rd (Lost Judges' vote) | |||
| Kings & Queens | 3 | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
| Peat Loaf & Elaine | 4 | 9th – Eliminated | ||||
| Andrew Derbyshire | 5 | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
| Jenson Zhu | 6 | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
| Kieran Lai | 7 | 8th – Eliminated | ||||
| Paddy & Nico 5 | 8 | | | | 2nd (Won Judges' vote) | |
| Jack Pack | 9 | 1st (Won Public vote) | ||||
- ^5 Paddy & Nico's performance had to be slightly modified before the semi-final, after the former was injured before its broadcast.[26]
Final (7 June) edit
- Guest performance: Diversity & Little Mix ("Salute")[27][non-primary source needed] &Cheryl Cole featuring Tinie Tempah ("Crazy Stupid Love")[28]
- Winner | Runner-up
| Finalist | Order | Finished [20] |
|---|---|---|
| The Addict Initiative | 1 | 10th |
| Jon Clegg | 2 | 7th |
| Lettice Rowbotham | 3 | 8th |
| Yanis, Arnaud & Mehdi 1 | 4 | 11th |
| Bars & Melody | 5 | 3rd |
| James Smith | 6 | 6th |
| Jack Pack | 7 | 4th |
| Darcy Oake | 8 | 5th |
| Paddy & Nico | 9 | 9th |
| Collabro | 10 | 1st |
| Lucy Kay | 11 | 2nd |
- ^1 Cowell buzzed Yanis Marshall, Arnaud and Mehdi, stating that their performance was 'boring and unoriginal'. This marks the first instance in Britain's Got Talent history that a buzzer was used in the live final of the competition.
Ratings edit
| Episode | Date | Total viewers (millions) [29] | Weekly rank [29] | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auditions 1 | 12 April | 12.41 | 1 | 45.0 [30] |
| Auditions 2 | 19 April | 11.05 | 1 | 40.4 [31] |
| Auditions 3 | 26 April | 11.33 | 1 | 42.6 [32] |
| Auditions 4 | 3 May | 10.90 | 1 | 42.3 [33] |
| Auditions 5 | 10 May | 11.14 | 1 | 41.1 [34] |
| Auditions 6 | 17 May | 10.70 | 1 | 40.9 [35] |
| Auditions 7 | 25 May | 9.93 | 1 | 38.9 [36] |
| Semi-final 1 | 26 May | 10.94 | 1 | 39.1 [37] |
| Semi-final 1 results | 8.87 | 10 | 33.3 [37] | |
| Semi-final 2 | 27 May | 9.36 | 8 | 34.9 [38] |
| Semi-final 2 results | 7.54 | 14 | 27.4 [38] | |
| Semi-final 3 | 28 May | 9.41 | 6 | 36.7 [39] |
| Semi-final 3 results | 7.55 | 13 | 28.7 [39] | |
| Semi-final 4 | 29 May | 9.53 | 7 | 36.7 [40] |
| Semi-final 4 results | 8.39 | 12 | 33.3 [40] | |
| Semi-final 5 | 31 May | 8.97 | 11 | 38.1 [41] |
| Semi-final 5 results | 7.09 | 19 | 28.2 [41] | |
| Live final | 7 June | 12.05 | 1 | 49.0 [42] |
References edit
- ^ a b McGarry, Lisa (7 February 2014). "Look how much David Walliams is missing sick Simon Cowell!". Unreality TV. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
- ^ a b "BGT judges feeling a golden buzz". Express & Star. Midland News Association. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ a b Wightman, Catriona (17 January 2014). "Britain's Got Talent: Is a golden buzzer a good idea? – vote". Digital Spy. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ Taylor, Frances (8 October 2013). "'Britain's Got Talent' 2014 open audition dates revealed". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- ^ "The Britain's Got Talent auditions are coming to Morrisons!". Britain's Got Talent. itv.com. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
- ^ Rigby, Sam (18 January 2014). "Britain's Got Talent 2014 auditions kick off in Belfast – pictures". Digital Spy. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ Smith, Carl (12 February 2014). "Britain's Got Talent judges talk buzzers and boybands at the London auditions – Watch". sugarscape.com. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ Darvill, Josh (2 February 2014). "Britain's Got Talent 2014 spoilers: Simon Cowell embarrassed by blow up dolls". TellyMix. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ "David Walliams Saves Simon Cowell From Choking on a Mint At 'Britain's Got Talent' Auditions". HuffPost. AOL. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ Heath, Olivia (23 January 2014). "BGT: Simon Cowell and Alesha Dixon arrive for Cardiff auditions". Reveal. Nat Mags. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ Docherty, Gavin (26 March 2014). "Hasn't Scotland got talent, Simon?". Daily Express. Northern & Shell. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ Sperling, Daniel (14 February 2014). "Simon Cowell baby reportedly 'on the way', Sinitta confirms?". Digital Spy. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
- ^ Connolly, Lynn (10 March 2014). "Britain's Got Talent 2014: The Judges deliberate, David Walliams debuts new look & Amanda Holden visits Crufts!". Unreality TV. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ^ Darvill, Josh (2 February 2014). "Britain's Got Talent 2014 auditions: Amanda Holden uses 'golden buzzer'". TellyMix. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ^ Daly, Emma (11 February 2014). "Britain's Got Talent 2014: Simon Cowell wishes he'd saved Golden Buzzer and worries who'll David Walliams will choose". Radio Times. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ^ Darvill, Josh (11 February 2014). "Britain's Got Talent 2014 spoilers: David Walliams presses the golden buzzer!". TellyMix. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ Scott, Matt (12 February 2014). "Alesha Dixon last judge to press golden buzzer at Britain's Got Talent 2014". TellyMix. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ "Ant and Dec use their Britain's Got Talent Golden Buzzer for Toju Okorodudu". stv.tv. STV. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ Henderson, Ella (22 May 2014). "I'm doing my first live TV performance of Ghost on the Britain's @GotTalent semi-final on Monday! SO excited! Tune in if you can guys E x" – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c d e f "The votes revealed". ITV. 7 June 2014. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ^ "Ed Sheeran, Little Mix to perform on Britain's Got Talent". The List. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ Rigby, Sam (26 May 2014). "Britain's Got Talent 2014: Second semi-final line-up revealed". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ The Vamps (22 May 2014). "Happy to announce we will be performing on @GotTalent #BGT next week. Retweet if you are as excited as Con" – via Twitter.
- ^ "will.i.am to make BGT debut". UTV. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
- ^ "Attraction and Richard and Adam team up for exclusive BGT performance". ITV. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
- ^ "Breaking News: Paddy and Nico fit for BGT semi-final". 30 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- ^ Little Mix (22 May 2014). "We're gonna be performing Salute on the Britain's @GotTalent final with @Diversity_Tweet! We're so excited for this xx Little Mix xx". Retrieved 22 May 2014 – via Twitter.
- ^ Darvill, Josh (27 May 2014). "Cheryl Cole to premiere 'Crazy Stupid Love' on Britain's Got Talent final". TellyMix. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- ^ Drewett, Meg (13 April 2014). "Britain's Got Talent returns to ITV with 10.5 million viewers". Digital Spy. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ Drewett, Meg (20 April 2014). "Britain's Got Talent drops 2m viewers but still tops Saturday ratings". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
- ^ Drewett, Meg (27 April 2014). "Britain's Got Talent continues to top Saturday ratings with 9.18m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ^ Drewett, Meg (4 May 2014). "Britain's Got Talent tops Saturday night with 8.8m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
- ^ Lee, Ben (11 May 2014). "Eurovision Song Contest 2014 draws 8.8m on BBC One". Digital Spy. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ Lee, Ben (26 May 2014). "Britain's Got Talent dominates Saturday night with 8.8m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ "British Soap Awards 2014 bring in 5.2m for ITV". Digital Spy. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ a b Fletcher, Alex (27 May 2014). "Britain's Got Talent live shows launch with over 9 million". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ a b Eames, Tom (28 May 2014). "Britain's Got Talent second live show drops over 1m on Tuesday". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ a b Eames, Tom (29 May 2014). "Britain's Got Talent up to 8.2m for latest semi-final". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- ^ a b Eames, Tom (30 May 2014). "Britain's Got Talent continues with 8 million on ITV". Digital Spy. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
- ^ a b Lee, Ben (1 June 2014). "Britain's Got Talent's Saturday semi-final takes 7.2m on ITV". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ Lee, Ben (8 June 2014). "Britain's Got Talent final grabs 10.3 million on ITV". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 June 2014.