The nineteenth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent began airing on ITV1 on 21 February 2026. Filming for the auditions began in October 2025 in Birmingham and Blackpool. The series is presented by Ant & Dec, with Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon returning as judges, alongside KSI, who replaced Bruno Tonioli on the judging panel following his departure after three series.
The series concluded on 30 May 2026, and was won by The Hawkstone Farmers Choir, with drone display group Celestial finishing as runner-up and dog act Anastasiia & Salsa finishing in third place. It marks the first time a choir has ever won the show.
Series overview During the previous series, it was announced that the show would return for a nineteenth series with auditions opening whilst it was airing. In July 2025, it was announced that Bruno Tonioli had decided to quit the show after three years, due to his commitments as a judge on Dancing with the Stars in the United States. He was subsequently replaced by KSI, who was a guest judge on the previous series and joined Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon on the judging panel.
Auditions for the series began on 3 October 2025 at the Birmingham Hippodrome. Auditions were originally planned to start filming the day prior, however Cowell suffered a fall and a head injury, so that day's tapings were called off. Stacey Solomon served as a guest judge in his place on the first filming day, and he would later return for the second day in Birmingham (4 October 2025), ending a two day stint in the Hippodrome. The auditions would then move to the Winter Gardens, Blackpool the following week.
The series began on 21 February 2026, and as in the previous series, would air weekly, excluding 14 March due to ITV airing live coverage of the final match weekend of the 2026 Six Nations Championship. Additionally, the 4th Semi-Final of the show would be broadcast from 6 - 8 rather than 7 - 9 on 16 May, in order to avoid clashing with the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 final airing at 8. There was a slight controversy over a last minute rule change from Cowell that allowed for Kevin Hogg to go through to the next round, after he received a split decision from the panel (with Dixon and Holden voting 'no', whilst KSI and Cowell voted 'yes'). Normally this would mean acts are eliminated, however Cowell allowed the presenters Ant & Dec to cast 'yes' votes also, subsequently allowing Hogg through. This was seen as unfair by viewers, as other acts, possibly more talented than Hogg, did not get this opportunity.
For the first time since series 14, there was no wildcard act in the final.
Golden Buzzer Live Show Golden Buzzer
ParticipantAge(s) GenreAct From Semi-final Result Alfredo & Coral 30 & 43 Danger Knife Throwing Duo Brazil & Spain 2 Eliminated Anastasiia & Salsa 35 & 7 Animals Dog ActFrance1Third place Antigravity 36–40 Variety Multimedia Group Ukraine 3 Eliminated Baron & Vesper 39 & 44 Danger Sideshow Duo Finland 5 Eliminated Braunstone Community Primary School 8–46 Singing / Dance Choir & Dance Group Braunstone, Leicester 2 Eliminated Celestial 20–42 Variety Drone Display Group Somerset 5 Runner-up Celtic Beat 6-11 Dance Dance Group Wales 1 Eliminated Christy Coysh 35 Singing Novelty SingerWakefield 1 Eliminated Epic Sax Guy 41 Music Saxophonist Moldova 4 Eliminated Fabian Fox 26 Magic Magician Austria 2Finalist Fraser Penman 35 Magic Mentalist Glasgow, Scotland 1 Eliminated Glantaf Boys Choir 11–18 Singing Choir Cardiff, Wales 4 Eliminated Jake Banfield 37 Magic Magician Essex 5 Eliminated James Miller 12 Singing Singer Rye, East Sussex 5 Eliminated Juan Carlos 12 Dance Dancer Spain 5 Eliminated Katherine O’Malley 42 Singing Singer Salford, Greater Manchester 2 Eliminated Kristel Herrera 32 Singing SingerHalifax, West Yorkshire 4 Eliminated Liwei Yang 32 Variety Foot Juggler Taiwan 3 Finalist Macshane & Delby 34 & 38 Singing Freestyle Rap Duo Australia 2Eliminated Matty Juniosa 27 Singing Singer Glasgow, Scotland 1 Finalist Mega Unity 16–25 Dance Dance Group France 3 Eliminated Mizuki Shinagawa 27 Acrobatics Aerialist Japan 3 Eliminated Mr Cherry 45 Variety Novelty Act Japan 5 Eliminated Nancy Tilley 12 Music Drummer Scarborough, North Yorkshire 1 Eliminated Niamh Noade 17 Singing / Music Singer & HarpistCounty Armagh, Northern Ireland 3 Eliminated Nic Vani 41 Singing Singer Maidstone, Kent 2 Eliminated Paul Nunnari 52 Acrobatics Aerialist Sydney, Australia 1 Eliminated Playground 16–25 Dance Dance Group London 3 Eliminated Rafferty Coope 17 Magic/Musician Magician Winchester, Hampshire 4 Finalist Ren DMC 35 Singing RapperNorth London 4 Eliminated Sadeck Berrabah & LMA 19–34 Dance Dance Group France & Liverpool 2 Finalist Sonny Green 30 Variety Poet Southend, Essex 4 Finalist SOS 29–33 Singing / Music Band Bournemouth 5 Eliminated Ted Hill 31 Comedy Stand Up Comedian London3 Finalist The Hawkstone Farmers Choir 27–74 Singing Choir Various 5 Winner The Lux City Choir 24–40 Singing Gospel Choir Various 3 Eliminated The Rafikiz 20-31 Acrobatics Acrobatic Group Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 1 Eliminated Wei Yamin 27 Music PVC Pipe Drummer Taiwan 4 Eliminated Welsch Master Team 18–39 Acrobatics Acrobatic Group Switzerland 4 Eliminated World Wings 17–28 Dance Dance Group Japan 2 Eliminated
Semi-finals summary Buzzed out Golden Buzzer
Prior to the beginning of the live shows, the semi-finalists were announced after a deliberation stage.
Semi-final 1 (25 April) Guest performance: The Cast of I'm Every Woman - The Chaka Khan Musical ("Ain't Nobody"/"I Feel for You"/"I'm Every Woman") Semi-finalist OrderPerformance typeBuzzes and judges' votesFinished Nancy Tilley 1 Drummer 3rd - Eliminated The Rafikiz 2 Acrobatic Group 5th - Eliminated Fraser Penman3 Mentalist 4th - Eliminated Celtic Beat4 Dance Group 6th - Eliminated Anastasiia & Salsa 5 Dog Act 1st (Won Public Vote) Paul Nunnari6 Aerialist 7th - Eliminated Christy Coysh 7 Novelty Singer 2nd - Eliminated Matty Juniosa8 Singer Golden Buzzer Advancement
Semi-final 2 (2 May) Guest performance: Sydnie Christmas & The Great Ormond Street Hospital Choir ("You're the Voice") Semi-finalist OrderPerformance typeBuzzes and judges' votesFinished World Wings 1 Dance Group 6th - Eliminated Fabian Fox 2 Magician1st (Won Public Vote) Braunstone Community Primary School 3 Choir & Dance Group 5th - Eliminated Sadeck Berrabah & LMA 4 Dance Group Katherine O'Malley5 Singer 7th - Eliminated Macshane & Delby6 Freestyle Rap Duo2nd - Eliminated Nic Vani7 Singer 4th - Eliminated Alfredo & Coral8 Knife Throwing Duo 3rd - Eliminated
Semi-final 3 (9 May) Guest performances: The Cast of Avenue Q ("For Now"), Westlife ("Swear It Again"/"Flying Without Wings"/"World Of Our Own"/"Uptown Girl") Semi-finalist OrderPerformance typeBuzzes and judges' votesFinished Playground1 Dance Group 5th - Eliminated The Lux City Choir2 Choir6th - Eliminated Mizuki Shinagawa3 Aerialist4th - Eliminated Mega Unity4 Dance Group 7th - Eliminated Niamh Noade 5 Singer & Harpist 2nd - Eliminated Ted Hill6 Stand Up Comedian 1st (Won Public Vote) Liwei Yang 7 Foot Juggler Golden Buzzer Advancement Antigravity8 Multimedia Group 3rd - Eliminated
Semi-final 4 (16 May) Guest performance: The Cast of Jesus Christ Superstar & Sam Ryder Semi-finalist OrderPerformance typeBuzzes and judges' votesFinished Wei Yamin*1PVC Pipe Drummer 7th - Eliminated Welsch Master Team2Acrobatic Group 6th - Eliminated Ren DMC3Rapper 2nd - Eliminated Glantaf Boys Choir4Choir 3rd - Eliminated Sonny Green5 Poet Golden Buzzer Advancement Rafferty Coope6Magician 1st (Won Public Vote) Epic Sax Guy7Saxophonist5th - Eliminated Kristel Herrera8Singer 4th - Eliminated
Epic Sax Guy performed with KSI. * On the ITV2 repeat for 23 May 2026 the first act Wei Yamin was not shown due to a technical difficulty at the beginning.
Semi-final 5 (23 May) Guest performance: The Cast of Matilda the Musical "(Revolting Children"/"When I Grow Up)" Semi-finalist OrderPerformance typeBuzzes and judges' votesFinished Juan Carlos1 Dancer 5th - Eliminated Jake Banfield 2Magician 2nd - Eliminated Mr Cherry3 Novelty Act 6th - Eliminated James Miller4 Singer 3rd - Eliminated SOS 5 Band 4th - Eliminated Celestial6Drone Display Group Golden Buzzer Advancement Baron & Vesper7 Sideshow Duo 7th - Eliminated The Hawkstone Farmers Choir8Choir 1st (Won Public Vote) Although Mr Cherry pressed Cowell's buzzer as part of his act, Cowell indicated that he would have done so himself regardless of this.
Final (30 May) Guest performance: The Cast of Sinatra: The Musical, Mis-Teeq ("One Night Stand"/"All I Want"/"Scandalous") Finalist Order Performance type Percentage Finished Liwei Yang 1 Foot Juggler2.88% 10th Rafferty Coope 2 Magician9.01% 5th Anastasiia & Salsa 3 Dog Act 9.28% 3rd The Hawkstone Farmers Choir 4 Choir28.72% 1st Fabian Fox 5 Magician 4.34% 9th Sonny Green 6 Poet8.66% 6th Sadeck Berrabah & LMA 7 Dance Group6.73% 8th Ted Hill 8 Stand Up Comedian7.88% 7th Celestial 9 Drone Display Group13.36% 2nd Matty Juniosa 10 Singer9.16% 4th
Ratings
<onlyinclude> EpisodeAir date Total viewers(millions) ITVweekly rank Auditions 1 4.70 1 Auditions 2 4.88 1 Auditions 3 5.17 1 Auditions 4 5.08 1 Auditions 5 5.38 1 Auditions 6 5.28 1 Auditions 7 4.55 1 Auditions 8 4.33 1 Semi-Final 1 3.77 7 Semi-Final 2 3.72 7 Semi-Final 3 3.76 7 Semi-Final 4 3.44 8 Semi-Final 5 3.20 9 Final 4.37 1
References