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Britain's Got Talent series 6

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Britain's Got Talent
Series 6
Hosted byAnt & Dec (ITV)
Stephen Mulhern (ITV2)
JudgesDavid Walliams
Alesha Dixon
Amanda Holden
Simon Cowell
Carmen Electra (London auditions)
WinnerAshleigh and Pudsey
Runner-upJonathan and Charlotte
Release
Original networkITV
ITV2 (BGMT)
Original release24 March (2012-03-24) –
12 May 2012 (2012-05-12)
Series chronology
← Previous
Series 5
Next →
Series 7
List of episodes

The sixth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, from 24 March to 12 May 2012. The sixth series saw Simon Cowell resume a full commitment to the programme following the previous series,[1] yet neither David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre returned to take part in the new series,[2][3] leading to them being replaced by Alesha Dixon and David Walliams.[4] Because of her pregnancy during filming of the auditions, Amanda Holden was required to miss a number of sessions, leading to producers asking Carmen Electra to step in as a guest judge in her place.[5]

The sixth series of the programme saw a full commitment of incorporating a panel of four judges throughout every stage of the competition. The prize money offered by Britain's Got Talent was increased to £500,000 for this series only,[6] the highest amount offered in the programme's history. In addition, the format of the programme saw a number of changes, including nine semi-finalists in each semi-final, the establishment of a Wildcard format similar to that used in America's Got Talent - in which the judges could appoint a single place in the final to any eliminated semi-finalist they favoured the most - and the incorporation of a mobile voting app, which functioned differently to the system used on The X Factor.[7]

The sixth series was won by dancing dog act Ashleigh and Pudsey, with opera duo Jonathan and Charlotte finishing in second place and choir Only Boys Aloud third. Many of the semi-finalists that took part in the competition were considered some of the best in the programme's history by 2012.[8] During its broadcast, the series averaged around 10.6 million viewers. The programme faced controversy concerning two auditions and a mishap with the new voting system, of which Ofcom had to investigate ITV's handling in regards to two of these incidents that viewers raised complaints against.

Series overview

Judges and Presenter(s) for Britain's Got Talent Series 6
David Walliams
Alesha Dixon
Amanda Holden
Simon Cowell
Carmen Electra (Guest)
Ant & Dec (ITV1)
Stephen Mulhern (ITV2)

Following open auditions held the previous year,[9][10] the Judges' auditions were held during January and February 2012, within Manchester,[11] Blackpool, Cardiff, London, Edinburgh and Birmingham. Like the previous series, a number of acts were invited to audition between 6 and 22 January, after being found via their videos on YouTube.[12] Twenty-five participants from this were picked by the producers and revealed by Britain's Got More Talent host Stephen Mulhern via a live YouTube stream from backstage at the London auditions, in which the YouTube community voted on their favourites between 6 and 13 February, with the winning acts later performing before the judges after the results of the vote on 18 February. Between 25 and 31 January, the sponsors of the show for this series, Virgin Media, ran addition auditions for the show via videos made on YouTube and/or Vimeo, which, while adhering to the same rules, were restricted to only Virgin Media customer, with the five winning acts later performing for the judges during the Birmingham auditions.[citation needed]

Following the previous series, both David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre announced that they wouldn't be returning for another year of the competition.[2][3] Their decision led to the producers seeking out their replacements, after deciding to maintain the use of four judges in the programme following Cowell's announcement in December 2011 that he would be returning to oversee auditions for the sixth series. Both Hasselhoff and McIntyre were eventually replaced by comedian David Walliams, and singer and TV presenter Alesha Dixon, the latter having previously been a judge on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.[4] Owing to her pregnancy entering its late stages, Holden was forced to be absent from the Blackpool auditions. As a result, the production team brought in Carmen Electra as a guest judge and oversee these in her place, until Holden was cleared by doctors to return to overseeing the remainder of the auditions.[5][13] Apart from a change in the judging panel, the producers decided to increase the prize money offered to the winner of the series to £500,000, with Cowell pledging half of the prize money being offered to the winner.[6]

Of the participants that took part, only forty five made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals,[14] with nine appearing in each one; this was a significant change after the last four series of the programme. In a change with the format, the live final featured ten acts that made it through the semi-finals, and one additional act dubbed "the Judges' wildcard" - if a semi-finalist was eliminated in their semi-final, they became eligible to be picked as a wildcard act for the final by the judges, with the choice made prior to the live final's broadcast. The wildcard for this series was boyband The Mend, after they 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:[citation needed]

  Winner |   Runner-up |   Finalist
  Semi-finalist | Judges' Wildcard Finalist
Participant Age(s) 1 Genre Act Semi-final Result
Analiza Ching 29 Music Violinist 1 Eliminated
Aquabatique 2 21–28 Variety Synchronised Swimmers 5 Finalist
Area 51 23–44 Dance Pyrotechnic Dance Group 3 Eliminated
Ashleigh and Pudsey 17 & 6 3 Animals Dog Act 1 Winner
Ashley Elliot 16 Music Xylophonist 3 Eliminated
Be Minor 13–14 Singing Girl Band 4 Eliminated
Beatrix von Bourbon 27 Dance Burlesque Dancer 4 Eliminated
Billy George 20 Acrobatics Cyr Wheel Acrobat 5 Eliminated
Brynolf & Ljung 35 & 36 Magic Magic Duo 4 Eliminated
Callum Oakley 16 Comedy Stand Up Comedian 5 Eliminated
Cascade 22–35 Acrobatics Martial Arts Team 2 Eliminated
Chica Latina 44 Singing Singer 4 Eliminated
Dennis Egel 41 Singing Singer 3 Eliminated
Face Team 19–28 Acrobatics Basketball Stunt Team 5 Eliminated
Fish on Percussion 24 Music Percussionist 2 Eliminated
Four Corners 17–25 Dance Dance Group 2 Eliminated
Gatis Kandis 31 Comedy Stand Up Comedian 4 Eliminated
Graham Blackledge 42 Singing / Music Singer & Organist 2 Eliminated
Greig Stewart 27 Music Laser Harpist 5 Eliminated
Honey Shazad 21 Singing Singer 3 Eliminated
Hope Murphy 16 Singing Singer 5 Eliminated
Jonathan and Charlotte 17 & 16 Singing Opera Duo 2 Runner-Up
Kai & Natalia 15 & 16 Dance Ballroom Dance Duo 2 Finalist
Karizma Krew 14–38 Dance Street Dance Group 2 Eliminated
Lauren Thalia 12 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist 1 Eliminated
Loveable Rogues 18–20 Singing / Music Acoustic Trio 3 Finalist
Lucky 26 Acrobatics Contortionist 3 Eliminated
Malaki Paul 9 Singing Singer 4 Eliminated
Martyn Crofts 42 Singing Raping Darlek Impersonator 5 Eliminated
Molly Rainford 11 Singing Singer 3 Finalist
Nu Sxool 10–17 Dance Dance Group 4 Finalist
Only Boys Aloud 14–19 Singing Choir 1 Finalist
Paige Turley 14 Singing Singer 2 Eliminated
Rachel Knowland 25 Singing Singer 1 Eliminated
Ryan O'Shaughnessy 19 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist 5 Finalist
Sam Kelly 19 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist 4 Finalist
Strictly Wheels 39 & 41 Dance Dance Duo 5 Eliminated
The Jive Aces 34–49 Music Jazz Band 1 Eliminated
The Mend 21–22 Singing Boy Band 1 Finalist
The Showbears 34–53 Singing Singing Group 2 Eliminated
The Sugar Dandies 40 & 40 Dance Ballroom Dance Duo 4 Eliminated
The Zimmers 66–88 Singing Rap Group 3 Eliminated
Twist and Pulse Dance Company 12–20 Dance Street Dance Group 3 Eliminated
United We Stand 17–25 Dance Street Dance Group 1 Eliminated
Zipparah Tafari 49 Singing Rapper 1 Eliminated
  • ^1 Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this series.
  • ^2 Due to the nature of Aquabatique's performance, their live round performances had to be performed outside of the studio, with the judges and studio audience watching via screens.
  • ^3 The latter value pertains to the age of the dog, as disclosed by its owner.

Semi-finals summary

Buzzed out | Judges' vote |   Won the public vote
  Won the judges' vote |   Lost the judges' vote |   Eliminated

Semi-final 1 (6 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Buzzes and Judges' Vote Result [15]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
Zipparah Tafari 1 4th - Eliminated
The Jive Aces 2 7th - Eliminated
Lauren Thalia 3 5th - Eliminated
United We Stand 4 9th - Eliminated
Analiza Ching 5 8th - Eliminated
The Mend 4 6 3rd (Judges' vote tied - Lost on Public Vote)
Rachel Knowland 7 6th - Eliminated
Ashleigh & Pudsey 8 1st (Won Public vote)
Only Boys Aloud 9 2nd (Judges' vote tied - Won on Public vote)
  • ^4 The Mend were later sent through to the final as the judges' wildcard.

Semi-final 2 (7 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Buzzes and Judges' Vote Result [15]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
Cascade 1 8th - Eliminated
Paige Turley 2 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Karizma Krew 3 5th - Eliminated
The Showbears 4 7th - Eliminated
Fish on Percussion 5 9th - Eliminated
Graham Blackledge 6 6th - Eliminated
Kai and Natalia 7 2nd (Won Judges' vote)
Four Corners 8 4th - Eliminated
Jonathan and Charlotte 9 1st (Won Public vote)

Semi-final 3 (8 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Buzzes and Judges' Vote Result [15]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
The Zimmers 1 6th - Eliminated
Area 51 2 8th - Eliminated
Ashley Elliot 3 5th - Eliminated
Molly Rainford 4 2nd (Judges' vote tied - Won on Public vote)
Lucky 5 7th - Eliminated
Loveable Rogues 6 1st (Won Public vote)
Honey Shazad 7 9th - Eliminated
Twist and Pulse Dance Company 8 3rd (Judges' vote tied - Lost on Public vote)
Dennis Egel 9 4th - Eliminated

Semi-final 4 (9 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Buzzes and Judges' Vote Result [15]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
Chica Latina 1 9th - Eliminated
Brynolf and Ljung 2 5th - Eliminated
Malaki Paul 3 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Gatis Kandis 4 6th - Eliminated
The Sugar Dandies 5 7th - Eliminated
Nu Sxool 6 2nd (Won Judges' vote)
Beatrix von Bourbon 7 8th - Eliminated
Sam Kelly 8 1st (Won Public vote)
Be Minor 9 4th - Eliminated

Semi-final 5 (10 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Buzzes and Judges' Vote Result [15]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
Face Team 1 6th - Eliminated
Greig Stewart 2 9th - Eliminated
Billy George 3 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Martyn Crofts 4 8th - Eliminated
Callum Oakley 5 4th - Eliminated
Hope Murphy 6 5th - Eliminated
Strictly Wheels 7 7th - Eliminated
Aquabatique 8 2nd (Won Judges' vote)
Ryan O'Shaughnessy 9 1st (Won Public vote)

Final (12 May)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Susan Boyle, Diversity & Paul Gbegbaje,[17] and The Show Bears (featuring David Walliams)

  Winner |   Runner-up
Finalist Order Finished [15]
The Mend 1 7th
Sam Kelly 2 9th
Nu Sxool 3 8th
Molly Rainford 4 6th
Loveable Rogues 5 4th
Kai and Natalia 6 11th
Aquabatique 7 10th
Ryan O'Shaughnessy 8 5th
Only Boys Aloud 9 3rd
Ashleigh and Pudsey 10 1st
Jonathan and Charlotte 11 2nd

Ratings

Main article: List of Britain's Got Talent episodes
Episode Air Date Total viewers (millions) [18] ITV1
Weekly rank [18] 		Viewer Share (%)
Auditions 1 24 March 11.57 3 39.2 [19]
Auditions 2 31 March 12.17 1 41.3 [20]
Auditions 3 7 April 11.95 1 38.7 [21]
Auditions 4 14 April 12.18 1 39.5 [22]
Auditions 5 21 April 11.60 1 38.2 [23]
Auditions 6 28 April 11.97 1 41.8 [24]
Auditions 7 5 May 11.27 1 38.9 [25]
Semi-final 1 6 May 11.01 2 35.5 [26]
Semi-final 2 7 May 10.77 2 35.6 [27]
Semi-final 2 results 9.44 9 32.4 [27]
Semi-final 3 8 May 9.12 12 33.5 [28]
Semi-final 3 results 7.91 15 27.8 [28]
Semi-final 4 9 May 10.15 3 37.6 [29]
Semi-final 4 results 7.95 14 27.3 [29]
Semi-final 5 10 May 9.90 7 36.6 [30]
Semi-final 5 results 8.83 13 30.2 [30]
Live final 12 May 13.12 1 46.4 [31]


Criticism, controversies & incidents

Beatrix Von Bourbon audition

On 23 April 2012, Ofcom launched an investigation into the programme after receiving complaints from viewers regarding the audition of burlesque performer Beatrix Von Bourbon. The complaints focused on the nature of her performance - which her stripping down until she wore only nipple tassels and a corset - and thus its suitability for a family audience and being aired before the 9pm watershed. The investigation lasted two months, and concluded on 23 July with the regulator ruling that ITV had not breached its broadcasting codes on protecting children from unsuitable material, stating that the broadcaster's measures to censor the footage of the audition had been within acceptable parameters.[32]

Ryan O'Shaughnessy audition

Researchers for Britain's Got Talent were forced to inform production staff that the participation of Ryan O'Shaughnessy, who auditioned for the sixth series, was heavily controversial due to his failure to disclose information in his application form for the show. Per the programme's terms and conditions, O'Shaughnessy had not disclosed that his involvement would be ineligible, due to him signing a contract with Universal Music and securing a place on the first series of The Voice of Ireland that same year. Although the singer was confronted with this information and stated in his defence that he wished to express his own music, Simon Cowell had to make clear that his involvement on the programme was a direct conflict of interest.[33][34] O'Shaughnessy was only able to continue his participation after dropping out of The Voice of Ireland and his contract with Universal Music before his semi-final appearance.[citation needed]

Voting app mishap

Although voting prior to the sixth series had been mainly conducted via phone votes, production staff decided to incorporate a second method of voting for viewers, in the form of a mobile app. The concept was that viewers could use the app to purchase a set of three votes for a small fee and use for any act within the semi-finals - if a viewers used two mobile votes in one semi-final, the third could be used in another, with viewers able to buy more votes after using up their initial set. However, the implementation of this voting method for the first semi-final saw technical difficulties arise, which could not be fixed and led to the app being discontinued for the rest of the series. Ofcom was forced to investigate the incident after viewers complained about the difficulty of making votes with the app. Although the regulator reprimanded ITV for the failures in the operation of the app, it acknowledged that the concept was an original idea and that the broadcaster was not at fault for the technical issues that occurred per the actions taken to deal with the resulting problems.[35]

References

  1. ^ Tobin, Christian (7 December 2011). "Simon Cowell to return to 'Britain's Got Talent', confirms ITV boss". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  2. ^ a b Tobin, Christian (20 November 2011). "Michael McIntyre quits 'Britain's Got Talent'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  3. ^ a b Sperling, Daniel (29 November 2011). "David Hasselhoff confirms 'Britain's Got Talent' exit". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  4. ^ a b Emma Hallett (2 January 2012). "Alesha Dixon quits Strictly Come Dancing for Britain's Got Talent". The Independent. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Carmen Electra confirmed as 'Britain's Got Talent' guest judge". Digital Spy. UK. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  6. ^ a b Hooton, Christopher (3 January 2012). "Simon Cowell added 250,000 of his own money to Britain's Got Talent-prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  7. ^ Britain's Got Talent - Short Codes
  8. ^ Darvill, Josh (30 April 2012). "Britain's Got Talent 2012 semi-finalists 'the best in years' say Ant and Dec". tellymix. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  9. ^ "Britain's Got Talent to hold first ever 'open audition' at London's Oval on January 22". tellymix. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  10. ^ "BGT holds first ever Open Audition". ITV. itv.com. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  11. ^ "Simon Cowell 'finds a star' on day one of Britain's Got Talent auditions in Manchester". menmedia.co.uk. 22 January 2012. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  12. ^ "Audition NOW through YouTube!". itv.com. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  13. ^ Daniels, Colin (27 November 2011). "Dannii Minogue, David Walliams 'join Britain's Got Talent'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  14. ^ McGarry, Lisa (26 February 2012). "Britain's Got Talent 2012 semi finalists all chosen". Unreality TV. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  15. ^ a b c d e f "The Britain's Got Talent 2012 voting results revealed". ITV. 12 May 2012. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  16. ^ @BGT (8 May 2012). "RT @polydorrecords: yo! @LMFAO are on @GotTalent tonight at 9.30pm on ITV... Come Party Rock with us Party Rockerrrrrrrs!!! Woop!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "Britain's Got Talent 2012: Wildcard revealed and Diversity perform! | Unreality TV". Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  18. ^ a b "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  19. ^ Millar, Paul (25 March 2012). "'The Voice' UK, 'Britain's Got Talent' launch with colossal ratings". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  20. ^ Millar, Paul (1 April 2012). "'The Voice' UK, 'Britain's Got Talent' ratings soar in second week". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  21. ^ Millar, Paul (8 April 2012). "'The Voice' UK closes ratings gap on 'Britain's Got Talent'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  22. ^ Millar, Paul (15 April 2012). "'The Voice' UK overtakes 'Britain's Got Talent' in ratings". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  23. ^ Millar, Paul (22 April 2012). "Britain's Got Talent pips The Voice as ratings battle intensifies". Digital Spy. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  24. ^ Millar, Paul (29 April 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent' extends lead over 'The Voice' UK". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  25. ^ Millar, Paul (6 May 2012). "'The Voice' UK anchored BBC One's night with 8.16m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  26. ^ Millar, Paul (7 May 2012). "'Homeland' first season bows out in style with nearly 3m for C4". Digital Spy. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  27. ^ a b Lee, Ben (8 May 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent' secures 9.4 million for ITV1". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  28. ^ a b Lee, Ben (9 May 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent' dips in ratings for third semi-final". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  29. ^ a b Lee, Ben (10 May 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent' results show beats 'The Apprentice'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  30. ^ a b Millar, Paul (11 May 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent' last semi-final results show rebounds to 8.2m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  31. ^ Millar, Paul (13 May 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent' final is most watched show of 2012". Digital Spy. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  32. ^ "Ofcom clears Britain's Got Talent burlesque act". BBC News. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  33. ^ "BGT's latest find Ryan O'Shaughnessy may be axed because he has contract with The Voice". Daily Mirror. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  34. ^ "Simon Cowell drops Ryan O'Shaughnessy from 'Britain's Got Talent'?". Digital Spy. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  35. ^ Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin (PDF), 23 July 2012.
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