Britain's Got Talent (series 6)

Britain's Got Talent
Series 6
Broadcast from	24 March (2012-03-24) – 12 May 2012 (2012-05-12)
Judges	Simon Cowell Amanda Holden Alesha Dixon David Walliams Carmen Electra (London auditions)
Presenter(s)	Ant & Dec (ITV)
Co-presenter(s)	Stephen Mulhern (ITV2)
Broadcaster	ITV ITV2 (Britain's Got More Talent)
Winner
Ashleigh and Pudsey
Origin	Wellingborough, England
Genre(s)	Dog trick act
Runner-up
Jonathan and Charlotte

The sixth series of Britain's Got Talent began airing on ITV on 24 March 2012 and ended on 12 May 2012. Ant & Dec returned to present the main show on ITV, while Stephen Mulhern returned to present spin-off show Britain's Got More Talent on ITV2. Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden returned as judges. Alesha Dixon and David Walliams joined the judging panel, replacing Michael McIntyre and David Hasselhoff. Carmen Electra served as a guest judge for the London auditions in Holden's absence. The series was won by dancing dog act Ashleigh and Pudsey, with opera duo Jonathan and Charlotte coming second. Welsh choir Only Boys Aloud came third. This was the first series since series 4 where Cowell was present at the auditions after only being present at the live shows in series 5.

From this series onwards, the winner's cash prize was increased from £100,000 to £500,000,^[1] and the number of judges was increased from three to four.^[2] The series was supposed to premiere on 14 April, as mid-April is when each series usually begins, but it was brought forward three weeks to premiere on 24 March – the same night as the launch of The Voice UK on BBC One. Many media outlets saw this move as a deliberate attempt by ITV to create a "TV ratings war" with the BBC.^[3]

Judges

Series 6 Judges

Simon Cowell

Amanda Holden

Alesha Dixon

David Walliams

On 20 September 2011, it was announced that Michael McIntyre would not return as a judge for series 6,^[4] and David Hasselhoff also confirmed his departure from the show on 29 November.^[5] Despite rumours of Amanda Holden being absent for the auditions stage, she confirmed via her Twitter account that she would be participating in the whole series.^[6] In December 2011, it was announced Simon Cowell would return as a full-time judge for the series, having been absent for the auditions in series 5.^[7] On 2 January 2012, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams were announced as the two replacement judges, with Dixon leaving her role on Strictly Come Dancing.^[2]

Holden missed the Blackpool auditions as she was admitted to hospital,^[8] where she later gave birth to her daughter Hollie Rose. Her condition also led to her absence in the subsequent auditions at Cardiff and London, with Carmen Electra appearing as a guest judge in the latter location.^[9] Holden returned to the judging panel for the final auditions in Edinburgh and Birmingham and also judged in the semi finals and final.

BGT Backstagers Online Show

For the first time in the show's history, a brand new online backstage show was introduced (sponsored by Virgin Media) where a small mix of different presenters would interview the acts, contestants, judges, presenters and production crew. The presenters were recruited following an online application process and auditions in London.

There was a two-hour live show every day airing between 2.30-4.30pm on the website and Facebook, which ran throughout the semi-finals and grand finale shows. The audience were encouraged to submit their questions for the chance to have them asked live during the show.

The semi-final presenters were:

• Semi-final 1: Lona Marler-Campbell, Redhill
• Semi-final 2: Daniel Bickerton, Wales
• Semi-final 3: Gemma Brown, London
• Semi-final 4: Elaine Fitzpatrick, Manchester
• Semi-final 5: Lisa Hornal, Airdrie

By popular demand, Daniel Bickerton and Elaine Fitzpatrick returned to co-present the final show.

Auditions

Auditionees had three ways to audition for the show this year:

• attend a producer audition (invited auditionees only, through applying online)
• attend the "open" audition in London
• upload a video audition via YouTube or Vimeo ("extra chance" auditions for Virgin Media customers)

Video auditionees who were successful were invited to perform in front of the judges on the Britain's Got Talent stage at the Birmingham auditions.

Open audition

An "open" audition (where registration is not necessary) was held at London's The Oval on 22 January 2012, though the judges were not present at this audition. This was the first time in the show's history that an open audition took place.^[10][11]

Video audition

Between 6 and 22 January, there was also the opportunity to upload an audition via YouTube.^[12] 25 of the producers' favourite video auditions, from all submissions received, were shortlisted. On 6 February, the shortlisted acts were announced by Britain's Got More Talent host Mulhern via a live YouTube stream from backstage at the London auditions, and the 25 selected acts were then viewed by the YouTube community, who voted for their favourites, until 13 February. On 18 February, the results were announced from backstage at the Birmingham auditions via another live YouTube stream. The five chosen acts with the most viewer votes performed in front of the judges on the Britain's Got Talent stage. The act that received the largest number of votes were a doo-wap group called The TestostaTones. They performed live on YouTube. Their performance was ended after all four judges pressed their buzzers, but the judges' comments were not shown as Mulhern ended the broadcast.^[13][14]

From 25 January, Virgin Media, the sponsors of the show, also ran "extra chance" auditions via YouTube and Vimeo. The same rules applied but the closing date was 31 January, and was only open for Virgin Media customers. Five acts, from the submissions received, were chosen to perform for the judges on 17 February at the Birmingham auditions.

Judges' auditions

The judges' auditions took place in Manchester, Blackpool, Cardiff, London, Edinburgh and Birmingham from the end of January 2012 starting in Manchester^[15] and ending in Birmingham in February. This was the first time that the Scotland auditions took place in Edinburgh instead of Glasgow. Auditions returned to Blackpool for the first time since series 2 in 2008. The semi-finalists were chosen on 25 February.^[16]

The first episode aired on 24 March and featured auditions from Manchester, Birmingham and London. Episode two featured more auditions from Birmingham and London, as well as the Blackpool auditions. Episode three onwards showcased auditions from acts from all six audition cities. The final audition episode on 5 May also revealed who the judges chose to advance to the live semi-finals.

Semi-finals

The live shows began on 6 May 2012, the day after the final audition episode. The first semi-final was just two straight hours from 8:00pm. From 7–10 May, there were semi-finals every day from 7.30pm - 9:00pm, with the results show at 9.30pm. The final was held on 12 May. Unlike previous series, there were nine semi-finalists each night instead of the usual eight, as this year saw "the best talent for a number of years."^[17]

Each results show featured a guest performance. The X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos performed on the first show while The Wanted performed on the second. The third featured LMFAO and the fourth featured Labrinth. Rebecca Ferguson performed on the fifth show.

Semi-finalists

  Winner

  Runner-up

  Third place

  Finalist

  Semi-finalist (lost judges' or public vote)

Wildcard (previously eliminated act reinstated into the final)

Name of act	Age(s)	Genre	Act	Semi	Position reached
The Sugar Dandies	40 & 46	Dance	Ballroom dancers	4	! Semi-finalist
Cascade	22–35	Gymnastics	Action-stunt team	2	! Semi-finalist
Area 51	23–44	Dance	Pyrotechnic dance troupe	3	! Semi-finalist
Chica Latina	44	Singing	Entertainer/singer	4	! Semi-finalist
Face Team	19–28	Gymnastics	Basketball stunt team	5	! Semi-finalist
Only Boys Aloud	14–19	Singing	Male choir	1	3 ! Third place
Jonathan and Charlotte	17 & 16	Singing	Opera duo	2	2 ! Runner up
Loveable Rogues	18–20	Singing	Acoustic band	3	4 ! Finalist
Be Minor	13–14	Singing	Girlband	4	! Semi-finalist
Lauren Thalia	12	Singing/music	Singer/guitarist	1	! Semi-finalist
Paige Turley	14	Singing	Singer	2	13 ! Semi-finalist (lost judges' vote)
Molly Rainford	11	Singing	Singer	3	6 ! Finalist
Brynolf & Ljung	35 & 36	Magic	Card magicians	4	! Semi-finalist
Hope Murphy	16	Singing	Singer	5	! Semi-finalist
Zipparah Tafari ('Mr Zip')	49	Music	Rapper	1	! Semi-finalist
Karizma Krew	14–38	Dance	Dance troupe	2	! Semi-finalist
Ashley Elliot	16	Music	Xylophonist	3	! Semi-finalist
Nu Sxool	10–17	Dance	Dance troupe	4	8 ! Finalist
Greig Stewart	27	Music	Laser harpist	5	! Semi-finalist
Jive Aces	34–49	Music	Performance instrumental band	1	! Semi-finalist
Graham Blackledge	42	Singing/music	Organist/singer	2	! Semi-finalist
Malaki Paul	9	Singing	Singer	4	13 ! Semi-finalist (lost judges' vote)
Strictly Wheels	39 & 41	Dance	Ballroom dance duo	5	! Semi-finalist
United We Stand	17–25	Dance	Dance troupe	1	! Semi-finalist
Kai & Natalia	15 & 16	Dance	Ballroom dancers	2	11 ! Finalist
Dennis Egel	41	Singing/entertainment	Singer/entertainer	3	! Semi-finalist
Martyn Crofts	42	Comedy	Dalek impersonator	5	! Semi-finalist
Billy George	20	Gymnastics	Cyr wheel performer	5	13 ! Semi-finalist (lost judges' vote)
Beatrix von Bourbon	27	Dance	Burlesque dancer	4	! Semi-finalist
Rachel Knowland	25	Singing	Singer	1	! Semi-finalist
Fish on Percussion	24	Music	Drummer/performer	2	! Semi-finalist
Honey Shazad	21	Singing	Singer	3	! Semi-finalist
Sam Kelly	19	Singing/music	Singer/guitarist	4	9 ! Finalist
The Mend	21–22	Singing	Boyband	1	7 ! Wildcard
Analiza Ching	29	Music	Violinist	1	! Semi-finalist
The Showbears	34–53	Singing	Singers/entertainers	2	! Semi-finalist
Twist and Pulse Dance Company	12–20	Dance	Dance troupe	3	12 ! Semi-finalist (lost public vote)
Callum Oakley	16	Comedy	Comedian	5	! Semi-finalist
Aquabatique	21–28	Swimming	Synchronised swimmers	5	10 ! Finalist
Ashleigh and Pudsey	17 & 6	Animal	Dancing dog act	1	1 ! Winner
Four Corners	18–23	Dance	Dance troupe	2	! Semi-finalist
The Zimmers	66–88	Music	Performance rappers	3	! Semi-finalist
Lucky	26	Gymnastics	Contortionist	3	! Semi-finalist
Gatis Kandis	31	Comedy	Stand-up comedian	4	! Semi-finalist
Ryan O'Shaughnessy[note 1]	19	Singing/music	Singer-songwriter/guitarist	5	5 ! Finalist

Semi-finals summary

The "Order" columns list the order of appearance each act made for every episode.

Key	Buzzed out	Judges' vote	Won the public vote	Won the judges' vote / split decision	Lost the judges' vote / public vote

Semi-final 1 (6 May 2012)

• Guest performers: Tulisa - "Young"

Artist	Order	Act	Buzzes and judges' votes	Finished[18]	Result
0 ! Cowell	0 ! Holden	0 ! Dixon	0 ! Walliams
Zipparah Tafari	1	Comedy rapper					4th - 2.3%	Eliminated
The Jive Aces	2	Swing jazz band					7th - 1.0%	Eliminated
Lauren Thalia	3	Comedy singer/guitarist					5th - 1.8%	Eliminated
United We Stand	4	Street dance troupe					9th - 0.6%	Eliminated
Analiza Ching	5	Violinist					8th - 0.9%	Eliminated
The Mend2	6	Boy band					3rd - 11.8%	Eliminated (Lost judges vote - split decision)1
Rachel Knowland	7	Singer					6th - 1.2%	Eliminated
Ashleigh & Pudsey	8	Dog act					1st - 50.0%	Advanced (Won public vote)
Only Boys Aloud	9	Male voice choir					2nd - 30.4%	Advanced (Won judges vote - split decision)1

• ^1 The judges' vote was a split decision. Only Boys Aloud were announced to have received more public votes and were sent through to the final.
• ^2 The Mend were sent through to the final as a wildcard after all the semi-finals.

Semi-final 2 (7 May 2012)

• Guest performer: The Wanted - "Chasing the Sun"

Artist	Order	Act	Buzzes and judges' votes	Finished[18]	Result
0 ! Cowell	0 ! Holden	0 ! Dixon	0 ! Walliams
Cascade	1	Martial arts stunt team					8th - 1.6%	Eliminated
Paige Turley	2	Singer					3rd - 5.2%	Eliminated (Lost judges' vote)
Karizma Krew	3	Dance troupe					5th - 2.4%	Eliminated
The Showbears	4	Entertainers					7th - 1.8%	Eliminated
Fish on Percussion	5	Percussionist					9th - 0.9%	Eliminated
Graham Blackledge	6	Organist/singer					6th - 1.9%	Eliminated
Kai and Natalia	7	Ballroom/latin dance couple					2nd - 6.2%	Advanced (Won judges' vote)
Four Corners	8	Dance troupe					4th - 4.7%	Eliminated
Jonathan and Charlotte	9	Opera duo					1st - 75.3%	Advanced (Won public vote)

Semi-final 3 (8 May 2012)

• Guest performer: LMFAO - medley of "Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy and I Know It"^[19]

During their performance, Walliams accidentally pressed Cowell's buzzer while he was dancing.^[20]

Artist	Order	Act	Buzzes and judges' votes	Finished[18]	Result
0 ! Cowell	0 ! Holden	0 ! Dixon	0 ! Walliams
The Zimmers	1	Comedy/performance rappers					6th - 3.3%	Eliminated
Area 51	2	Pyrotechnic dance troupe					8th - 2.2%	Eliminated
Ashley Elliot	3	Xylophonist					5th - 4.9%	Eliminated
Molly Rainford	4	Singer					2nd - 22.2%	Advanced (Won judges vote - split decision)2
Lucky	5	Contortionist					7th - 2.7%	Eliminated
Loveable Rogues	6	Acoustic group					1st - 40.4%	Advanced (Won public vote)
Honey Shazad	7	Singer					9th- 1.2%	Eliminated
Twist and Pulse Dance Company	8	Comedy/street dance troupe					3rd - 17.6%	Eliminated (Lost judges vote- split decision)2
Dennis Egel	9	Singer/entertainer					4th - 5.5%	Eliminated

• ^2 The judges' vote was a split decision. Molly Rainford was announced to have received more public votes and was sent through to the final.

Semi-final 4 (9 May 2012)

• Guest performer: Labrinth - "Express Yourself"

Artist	Order	Act	Buzzes and judges' votes	Finished[18]	Result
0 ! Cowell	0 ! Holden	0 ! Dixon	0 ! Walliams
Chica Latina	1	Entertainer					9th - 0.6%	Eliminated
Brynolf and Ljung	2	Illusionist					5th - 7.3%	Eliminated
Malaki Paul	3	Singer					2nd - 25.2%	Eliminated (Lost judges vote)
Gatis Kandis	4	Comedian					6th - 6.5%	Eliminated
The Sugar Dandies	5	Ballroom dance couple					7th- 2.8%	Eliminated
Nu Sxool	6	Dance troupe					3rd - 20.0%	Advanced (Won judges vote)
Beatrix von Bourbon	7	Burlesque dancer					8th - 1.1%	Eliminated
Sam Kelly	8	Singer/guitarist					1st - 26.8%	Advanced (Won public vote)
Be Minor	9	Girl band					4th - 9.7%	Eliminated

Semi-final 5 (10 May 2012)

• Guest performer: Rebecca Ferguson - "Teach Me How to Be Loved"

Artist	Order	Act	Buzzes and judges' votes	Finished[18]	Result
0 ! Cowell	0 ! Holden	0 ! Dixon	0 ! Walliams
Face Team	1	Basketball stunt team					6th - 7.4%	Eliminated
Greig Stewart	2	Laser harpist					9th - 1.6%	Eliminated
Billy George	3	Cyr wheel acrobat					3rd - 11.0%	Eliminated (Lost judges vote)
Martyn Crofts	4	Dalek voice impressionist					8th - 3.0%	Eliminated
Callum Oakley	5	Comedian					4th - 9.0%	Eliminated
Hope Murphy	6	Singer					5th - 7.6%	Eliminated
Strictly Wheels	7	Wheelchair ballroom dance couple					7th - 3.5%	Eliminated
Aquabatique	8	Synchronised swimmers					2nd - 14.6%	Advanced (Won judges vote)
Ryan O'Shaughnessy	9	Singer-songwriter/guitarist					1st - 42.3%	Advanced (Won public vote)

• ^3 During semi-final 1, Ant & Dec announced that the judges had a wildcard and would be able to send a previously-eliminated act through to Saturday's final. It was planned that the chosen act would be announced at the end of semi-final 5. However the wildcard was not announced, as the judges had yet to decide.
• Aquabatique performed outside the studio, with the judges watching from inside.

Final (12 May 2012)

• Guest performers:
  • Susan Boyle – "You'll See"
  • Diversity & Paul Gbegbaje
  • The Show Bears featuring David Walliams - "It's Raining Men". (During the performance, Simon, Amanda and Alesha jokingly pressed their buzzer, Simon actually pressed Amanda's buzzer)
• At the beginning of the first semi-final on 6 May, Ant & Dec announced that there would be an extra place in the final for one additional wildcard act, who would be selected by the judges. The judges eventually narrowed the choices down to three: The Mend, Four Corners and Twist and Pulse Dance Company. The Mend were announced as the chosen wildcard act at the start of the final.^[21]
• Aquabatique performed outside the studio, with the judges watching from inside.
• The voting percentages were revealed after the final.^[18]
• With a peak of 13.8 million viewers, the final, for a while, was the most-watched show of 2012.^[22] It was later beaten by the Diamond Jubilee Concert, the UEFA Euro 2012 quarter-final between England and Italy, the 2012 Wimbledon Men's Final and the opening and closing ceremonies of the London Olympics.

Voting

Unlike previous series, there were two ways to vote for contestants during the live shows. The first was the conventional way, an 11-digit number for each contestant that could be called from a landline or mobile, cost varying, and the new second way was by using mobile short codes, a seven-digit code assigned to a contestant during the show which could be called from any phone. Mobile short code votes also had a fixed price on any phone, and cost 50p a vote. ITV announced that at least 15p from every vote would go to charity. Unlike The X Factor, however, there was no text voting due to the risk of potential delays within the mobile text networks at busy times.^[23]

It was also announced that this year one could vote from the Britain's Got Talent mobile app. Votes had to be purchased in groups of three (costing £1.49) which then could be used to vote for any act when they appear on your device. If all three votes were not used in one show, they could be carried forward to the next. Once all three votes have been used, the voter would need to buy three more if they wish to place further votes. However, due to technical difficulties during the first semi-final, voting using the Britain's Got Talent mobile app was halted and as a result was not used for the rest of the series.

Ratings

Controversies

"Ratings war"

The series was initially supposed to premiere on 14 April, as mid-April is when each series usually begins, but it was brought forward three weeks to premiere on 24 March – the same night as the launch of The Voice UK on BBC One.^[38] Many media outlets saw this move as a deliberate attempt by ITV to create a "TV ratings war" with the BBC.^[39]

Beatrix Von Bourbon

The second episode of the series on 31 March featured the audition of burlesque performer Beatrix Von Bourbon. During her raunchy performance, which was broadcast at around 8:25pm (35 minutes before the 9:00pm watershed), she stripped down to nipple tassels and a corset. Cowell compared her to the American burlesque star Dita Von Teese, saying: "She could be the British version." He also jokingly asked if Von Bourbon had another song so that he could see her perform again, while Walliams afterwards collected her bra and dress from the stage. Even though Von Bourbon's breasts were covered up with superimposed stars in an effort not to offend viewers, television regulator Ofcom received over 70 complaints about the audition. An ITV spokesman said: "Beatrix's stylised burlesque performance was carefully edited to ensure it was suitable.", but Ofcom later announced that they would be launching an investigation: "The viewers who complained to us said the burlesque performer went on before the 9pm watershed and that it was inappropriate scheduling as children would have been watching."^[40] On 23 July, over two months after the series ended, it was announced that ITV had been cleared of any wrongdoing.^[41]

Ryan O'Shaughnessy

On 17 April, it was reported that Ryan O'Shaughnessy was facing being axed from the show after it was revealed that he already had a recording contract with Universal Music by auditioning for the first series of The Voice of Ireland in 2011.^[42] This was confirmed at the end of the final auditions episode on 5 May, during which the judges decided which acts were through to the live semi-finals. After 44 acts had been put through, O'Shaughnessy was left as the only act who had not yet been told his fate. Cowell told O'Shaughnessy, "We have a bit of a problem, and I think you know what that problem is, don't you? You're on another show which you're signed up to. You signed a contract with another company so why did you come and audition for this show?". O'Shaughnessy defended himself by saying that, "Songwriting is my thing and I wasn't allowed to express my own music on the other show [The Voice of Ireland], but I was on this show [Britain's Got Talent], it was a better opportunity for me.", but Cowell told him, "All you're doing is taking the place of somebody else, who isn't in your position on two shows. I'll be absolutely blunt with you, we were going to give you a yes, but I can't... you understand that?" O'Shaughnessy said that he fully understood Cowell's decision, but insisted that he would try to get off The Voice of Ireland and out of his contract with Universal in order to come back to Britain's Got Talent.^[43] It was announced later that day that O'Shaughnessy had been released from his contract and was back on Britain's Got Talent.^[44]

Loveable Rogues

On 10 May, it was announced that the Loveable Rogues were handpicked by the producers who saw their act on YouTube. In an interview, the Rogues responded with "we were head-hunted by the producers", but also added "however, we did not know Cowell, and we went through the same audition process as everyone else". Cowell denied the claims and quoted "I did not know them before and me, and all the other judges, have judged them as equal as every other act since the audition". The claims have since been admitted by producers, although they categorically state "they did not know Cowell... he was as surprised and happy to see them as the public".^[45]

Voting

During the first semi-final, Ant & Dec announced that votes could be cast using the Britain's Got Talent mobile app. Votes had to be purchased in groups of three (costing £1.49) which then could be used to vote for any act when they appear on your device. If all three votes were not used in one show, they could be carried forward to the next. Once all three votes have been used, the voter would need to buy three more if they wish to place further votes. However, due to technical difficulties during the first semi-final, voting using the app was halted and, as a result, was not used for the rest of the series. ITV were reprimanded by Ofcom after thousands of viewers were unable to vote using this method. Due to this technical fault, over half of votes did not go through. While Ofcom acknowledged voting via smartphones was a new concept, it said it believed ITV was responsible for ensuring everything went smoothly: "We were therefore concerned that the application was unable to handle demand when voting opened. "This meant that a significant proportion of viewers who had responded to the programme's invitation to purchase voting credits via the app were unable to use them and that therefore viewers were effectively misled - albeit unintentionally. We expect licensees to take all steps and efforts that are reasonably practicable to ensure the integrity and robustness of the systems they use. However, we accept that technical problems can arise - particularly during live transmissions.^[46]

Notes

1. ↑ O'Shaughnessy was initially sent home after it emerged that he already had a recording contract after appearing on The Voice of Ireland in 2011. However, he later managed to get himself released from that contract and returned to Britain's Got Talent.

References