The sixteenth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, from 15 April to 4 June 2023. Following the previous series, David Walliams resigned from the programme in the wake of criticism to comments he had made of contestants during the 2020 series,[1][2] leading to him being replaced by Bruno Tonioli in January 2023.[3][4][5] During auditions, Cowell allowed a change to the Golden Buzzer format, granting more being given than in previous series.
| Britain's Got Talent | |
|---|---|
| Series 16 | |
| Presented by | Ant & Dec |
| Judges | Bruno Tonioli Alesha Dixon Amanda Holden Simon Cowell |
| Winner | Viggo Venn |
| Runner-up | Lillianna Clifton |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Original release | 15 April – 4 June 2023 |
| Series chronology | |
The sixteenth series was won by comedian Viggo Venn, with dancer Lillianna Clifton finishing in second place, and magician Cillian O’Connor placing third. During its broadcast, the series averaged 5.98 million viewers.
Series overview
editFollowing the conclusion of the previous series, ITV announced that the show would return for a sixteenth series.[6][7] However, David Walliams was facing an uncertain future with the programme after ten series,[8] after it emerged he was facing criticism for comments he had made of contestants that had been poorly received by viewers; Walliams later resigned when it became clear the criticism couldn't be ignored.[1] Because of his departure, ITV worked to find a replacement, and signed on former Strictly Come Dancing and current Dancing with the Stars judge Bruno Tonioli in January 2023 to join with Cowell and the other judges.[3][9][10]
Cowell also announced that month of a change in format, revealing that he had given the audience the right to call for a Golden Buzzer for a contestant they felt deserved it, noting that there had been no set rules regarding the buzzer format since it was first introduced.[11] Tonioli also gave an extra Golden Buzzer himself, but by accident after doing so halfway through a contestant's act; something which had never been done before within the Got Talent franchise itself.[12]
Color key:
- Winner | Runner-up | Third Place | Semi-finalist
Judges' Wildcard Finalist | 
Golden Buzzer Audition
| Participant | Age(s) | Genre | Act | Semi-final | Finished |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abi Carter-Simpson | 30 | Singing / Music | Singer & Ukulelist | 1 | Eliminated |
| Amy Lou | 34 | Singing | Singer | 1 | Finalist |
| Andrew Stanton | 42 | Danger | Sword Swallower | 2 | Eliminated |
| Boycanto | 6–12 | Singing | Vocal Group | 4 | Eliminated |
| Cammy Barnes | 32 | Singing / Music | Singer & Guitarist | 5 | Eliminated |
| Cillian O'Connor | 13 | Magic | Close Up Magician | 5 | Third place |
Chickenshed 
|
5–37 | Singing | Vocal Group | 4 | Eliminated |
| Duo Odyssey | 27 & 33 | Acrobatics | Aerial Duo | 4 | Finalist |
| Dylan B | 12 | Singing | Singer | 3 | Eliminated |
| Enzo Weyne | 33 | Magic | Magician | 1 | Eliminated |
| Felix Clements | 24 | Dance | Contemporary Dancer | 4 | Eliminated |
| Gamal John
|
36 | Singing | Singer | 1 | Eliminated |
| Ghetto Kids
|
5–13 | Dance | Dance Group | 3 | Finalist |
| Harry Churchill | 11 | Music | Electric Guitarist | 3 | Eliminated |
| Ichikawa Koikuchi | 42 | Variety | Flatulist | 1 | Eliminated |
| Johns' Boys | 14–73 | Singing | Choir | 2 | Eliminated |
| Kimoon Do | 31 | Magic | Close Up Magician | 4 | Eliminated |
| Lewis Fuller | 24 | Singing / Magic | Singer & Magician | 2 | Eliminated |
| Lillianna Clifton | 13 | Dance | Contemporary Dancer | 5 | Runner-Up |
| Malakai Bayoh
|
13 | Singing | Opera Singer | 4 | Finalist |
| Markus Birdman | 52 | Comedy | Stand Up Comedian | 3 | Eliminated |
| MB14
|
28 | Music | Beatboxer | 4 | Eliminated |
| Miki Dark | 57 | Danger / Magic | Stunt Magician | 3 | Eliminated |
| Musa Motha
|
27 | Dance | Contemporary Dancer | 1 | Finalist |
| Nathan & Joanne | 24 & 28 | Dance | Dance Duo | 2 | Eliminated |
| Noodle1 | 24 | Singing | Singer | 4 | Eliminated |
| Notorious | 8–16 | Dance | Dance Group | 3 | Eliminated |
| Nurse Georgie Carroll | 47 | Comedy | Stand Up Comedian | 5 | Eliminated |
| Olivia Lynes
|
11 | Singing | Musical Theatre Singer | 2 | Finalist |
| Parkour Collective | 20–25 | Acrobatics | Parkour Trio | 1 | Eliminated |
| Romeo & Icy | 20 & 21 | Dance | Dance Duo | 5 | Eliminated |
| The Pixiebelles | 6–9 | Singing | Theatre Group | 5 | Eliminated |
| Tia Connolly | 15 | Singing | Singer | 2 | Eliminated |
Tonikaku 
|
41 | Variety | Novelty Act | 5 | Finalist |
| Toy Toy Toy | 26 & 34 | Variety | Yo-Yo Duo | 3 | Eliminated |
| Travis George | 22 | Singing | Opera Singer | 3 | Finalist |
| United 2 Dance | 9–11 | Dance | Ballroom Dance Group | 1 | Eliminated |
| Unity
|
16–25 | Dance | Contemporary Dance Group | 5 | Eliminated |
| Viggo Venn | 33 | Comedy | Comedian | 2 | Winner |
| Yo Highness | 10–26 | Dance | Dance Group | 2 | Eliminated |
^1 During the fourth semi-final, Noodle was revealed to be series 15 finalist Tom Ball. Ball's identity was kept a secret by production staff throughout the series - all details listed here pertain to his unveiling as the voice of Noodle in the semi-final.
Semi-finals summary
edit
Buzzed out | 
Judges' vote | Won the Public's Vote | Won the Judges' Vote- Lost Judges' Vote | Eliminated
Prior to the beginning of the live shows, the semi-finalists were decided following a deliberation stage at the London Palladium.
Semi-final 1 (29 May)
edit- Guest performance: Diversity
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Tonioli | |||
| United 2 Dance | 1 | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
| Gamal John | 2 | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
| Ichikawa Koikuchi | 3 | 
|
|
|
|
8th – Eliminated |
| Enzo Weyne | 4 | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
| Parkour Collective | 5 | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
| Abi Carter-Simpson | 6 | 
|
|
3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote) | ||
| Amy Lou | 7 |
|
|
2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote) | ||
| Musa Motha | 8 | 1st (Won Public Vote) | ||||
Semi-final 2 (30 May)
edit- Guest performance: The cast of We Will Rock You ("Don't Stop Me Now"/"We Will Rock You"/"We Are the Champions")
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Tonioli | |||
| Yo Highness | 1 | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
| Olivia Lynes | 2 |
|
|
|
3rd (Won Judges' Vote) | |
| Nathan & Joanne | 3 | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
| Lewis Fuller | 4 | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
| Tia Connolly | 5 | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
| Andrew Stanton | 6 | 8th – Eliminated | ||||
| Johns' Boys | 7 |
|
2nd (Lost Judges' Vote) | |||
| Viggo Venn | 8 | 1st (Won Public Vote) | ||||
Semi-final 3 (31 May)
editGuest performance: James Arthur ("A Year Ago")
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Tonioli | |||
| Harry Churchill | 1 |
|
|
3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote) | ||
| Miki Dark | 2 | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
| Travis George | 3 |
|
|
2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote) | ||
| Notorious | 4 | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
| Markus Birdman | 5 |
|
8th – Eliminated | |||
| Ghetto Kids | 6 | 1st (Won Public Vote) | ||||
| Toy Toy Toy | 7 | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
| Dylan B | 8 | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
Semi-final 4 (1 June)
editGuest performance: Axel Blake
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Tonioli | |||
| Noodle | 1 | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
| Chickenshed | 2 | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
| Kimoon Do | 3 |
|
|
|
8th – Eliminated | |
| MB14 | 4 |
|
|
3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote) | ||
| Boycanto | 5 | 7th - Eliminated | ||||
| Duo Odyssey | 6 |
|
|
2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote) | ||
| Felix Clements | 7 | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
| Malakai Bayoh | 8 | 1st (Won Public Vote) | ||||
Semi-final 5 (2 June)
editGuest performance: The cast of The Wizard of Oz ("We're Off to See the Wizard"/"Over the Rainbow"/"If I Only Had a Brain"/"The Merry Old Land of Oz")
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and judges' votes | Finished[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Holden | Dixon | Tonioli | |||
| Romeo & Icy | 1 | 8th – Eliminated | ||||
| Lillianna Clifton | 2 | 2 |
|
|
|
3rd (Won Judges' Vote) |
| Nurse Georgie Carroll | 3 | 6th – Eliminated | ||||
| Cillian O'Connor | 4 | 1st (Won Public Vote) | ||||
| The Pixiebelles | 5 | 7th – Eliminated | ||||
| Cammy Barnes | 6 | 5th – Eliminated | ||||
| Unity | 7 | 4th – Eliminated | ||||
| Tonikaku | 8 | 2nd (Lost Judges' Vote)3 | ||||
^2 Due to the majority vote for Lillianna Clifton, Cowell's voting intention was not revealed.
^3 Tonikaku was later sent through to the final as the judges' wildcard.
Final (4 June)
editGuest performance: Susan Boyle & the cast of Les Misérables ("I Dreamed a Dream"/"Finale")
| Finalist | Order | Finished[13] |
|---|---|---|
| Ghetto Kids | 1 | 6th |
| Olivia Lynes | 2 | 9th |
| Amy Lou | 3 | 7th |
| Tonikaku | 4 | 11th |
| Travis George | 5 | 8th |
| Duo Odyssey | 6 | 10th |
| Cillian O'Connor | 7 | 3rd |
| Lillianna Clifton | 8 | 2nd |
| Viggo Venn | 9 | 1st |
| Musa Motha | 10 | 5th |
| Malakai Bayoh | 11 | 4th |
Ratings
edit| Episode | Air date | Total viewers (millions)[14] |
ITV Weekly rank[14] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auditions 1 | 15 April | 7.10 | 1 |
| Auditions 2 | 16 April | 6.42 | 2 |
| Auditions 3 | 22 April | 7.32 | 1 |
| Auditions 4 | 29 April | 6.49 | 1 |
| Auditions 5 | 6 May | 6.63 | 5 |
| Auditions 6 | 14 May | 5.70 | 3 |
| Auditions 7 | 20 May | 5.96 | 1 |
| Auditions 8 | 27 May | 5.92 | 1 |
| Semi-Final 1 | 29 May | 5.58 | 2 |
| Semi-Final 2 | 30 May | 5.38 | 3 |
| Semi-Final 3 | 31 May | 5.00 | 5 |
| Semi-Final 4 | 1 June | 4.80 | 6 |
| Semi-Final 5 | 2 June | 5.04 | 4 |
| Final | 4 June | 6.33 | 1 |
References
edit- ^ a b "David Walliams made 'disrespectful comments' about Britain's Got Talent contestants". BBC. 10 November 2022.
- ^ Starkey, David (10 November 2022). "David Walliams apologises for "disrespectful" comments about 'Britain's Got Talent' contestants". NME. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ a b "David Walliams replaced by Bruno Tonioli as Britain's Got Talent judge". BBC News. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
- ^ Davda, Rishi (13 April 2023). "Britain's Got Talent returns to screens with a judging shakeup". ITV News. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ "Why did Bruno Tonioli replace David Walliams on Britain's Got Talent?". 15 April 2023.
- ^ "Britain's Got Talent 2023: Release date, judges, contestants and news". Radio Times.
- ^ "Britain's Got Talent 2023: Everything you need to know about the new series of BGT". BBC. 11 April 2023.
- ^ "David Walliams' future as Britain's Got Talent judge unclear ahead of final decision on panel". ITV News. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ "Former Strictly Come Dancing star Bruno Tonioli joins Britain's Got Talent as a brand new judge!". BBC. 25 January 2023.
- ^ Ambrose, Tom (24 January 2023). "Bruno Tonioli to replace David Walliams as Britain's Got Talent judge". The Guardian.
- ^ "Britain's Got Talent's Simon Cowell reveals he gave the audience an extra Golden Buzzer this year". Radio Times.
- ^ "First Britain's Got Talent Golden Buzzer Act Confirmed After New Judge Bruno Tonioli Does Something Never Done Before".
- ^ a b c d e f "Britain's Got Talent 2023 voting percentages REVEALED!".
- ^ a b "BARB Weekly Top Programmes on Four Screens". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.