Britain's Got Talent (series 3)

Britain's Got Talent
Series 3
Broadcast from 11 April – 30 May 2009
Judges Simon Cowell
Amanda Holden
Piers Morgan
Kelly Brook (guest)
Presenter(s) Anthony McPartlin (ITV)
Declan Donnelly (ITV)
Co-presenter(s) Stephen Mulhern (ITV2)
Broadcaster ITV
ITV2 (BGMT)
Winner
Diversity
Origin Dagenham, England
Runner-up
Susan Boyle

Series Three of Britain's Got Talent, a British talent competition series, began broadcasting in the UK during 2009, from 11 April to 30 May on ITV. Although the producers initially intended to expand the judging panel by adding in Kelly Brook as a fourth judge,[1][2] they later dropped the change to the format after using it for six days within the auditions stage of the competition; Brooks was labelled as a "guest judge" when the series was broadcast, as a direct result.[3][4] Apart from this, no other changes were made.

The third series was won by street dance troupe Diversity, with singer Susan Boyle finishing second and saxophonist Julian Smith finishing third. During its broadcast, the series averaged around 13.3 million viewers; the figures were partly helped by the notable performances of Boyle during her time in on the show.[5]

Series overview

Brook was initially intended as a fourth judge, but the producers later made her a guest judge for the Manchester auditions only.

Following open auditions held the previous year, the Judges' auditions took place across January and February 2009, within Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, London and Cardiff. When the auditions were being overseen, the producers decided to expand the judging panel by adding a fourth judge to proceedings, and thus they recruited Kelly Brook as their choice for this role.[1] The alteration to the panel was made prior to the Manchester auditions, but within six days after it was introduced, the producers deemed it an over-complication to the show's format and dropped it. As a result, Brook, while receiving her fee for her involvement in the third series, was labelled as a guest judge when it began broadcasting.[3] This series is notable for launching the career of Susan Boyle, whose performances, including her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical Les Misérables during her auditions, made her internationally famous; her audition in particular was later posted to YouTube, whereupon it earned around 100 million views within five days.[6][7][8][9][10][11]

Of the participants that took part, only forty made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals,[12] with eight appearing in each one, and ten of these acts making it into the live final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:

  Winner
  Runner-up
  Third place
  Finalist
  Semi-finalist (lost judges' vote)
  Semi-finalist (eliminated)
Participant Age(s)1 Genre Act From Semi-Final Result
2 Grand 12 and 76 Singing Grandfather and granddaughter singing duo Doncaster, England 4 Finalist (Won Judges' vote)
Aidan Davis 12 Dancing Street dancer Birmingham, England 5 Finalist (Won Public vote)
The Barrow Boys 18–27 Dancing Wheelbarrow dancers Devon, England 3 Eliminated
Ben and Becky 18,16 Dancing Ballroom dancers Essex, England 3 Eliminated
Brit Chix 23–26 Music Rock band Boston, England 4 Eliminated
Callum Francis 12 Music Musical theatre performer Hertfordshire, England 4 Eliminated (Lost Judges' vote)
Darth Jackson 37 Dancing Darth Vader and Michael Jackson impersonator Birmingham, England 1 Eliminated
DCD Seniors 14–21 Dancing Dance troupe Cardiff, Wales 5 Eliminated
Diversity 13–25 Dancing Street dancers Dagenham, England 1 Winner
DJ Talent 30 Singing Rapper London 2 Eliminated
The Dreambears 29–34 Comedy / Dancing Comedy dancers London 5 Eliminated
Fabia Cerra 35 Dancing Burlesque dancer Oxford, England 4 Eliminated
Faces of Disco 24,30 Comedy / Dancing Comedy dancers London 1 Eliminated
Flawless 20–31 Dancing Street dancers London 2 Finalist (Won Public vote)
Floral High Notes 43,46 Singing / Variety Opera singing and flower arranging Stockport, England 3 Eliminated
Fred Bowers 73 Dancing Break dancing pensioner Loughborough, England 4 Eliminated
Gareth Oliver 28 Comedy Ventriloquism Calderdale, England 2 Eliminated (Lost Judges' vote)
Good Evans 6–42 Singing Singing family Coventry, England 5 Eliminated
Greg Pritchard 24 Singing Countertenor/Male Soprano Usk, Wales 5 Eliminated (Lost Judges' vote)
Harmony 14,16 Music / Singing Musical theatre performers Essex, England 3 Eliminated
Hollie Steel 10 Singing Singer Accrington, England 5 Finalist (Won Judges' vote)
Hot Honeyz 16–25 Dancing Dancers Maidstone, England 2 Eliminated
Jackie Prescott and Tippy Toes 40,2 Dancing / Animals Dog dancing Oxford, England 4 Eliminated
Jamie Pugh 38 Singing Singer Cardiff, Wales 2 Eliminated
Julia Naidenko 24 Dancing Belly dancer London (originally Latvia) 1 Eliminated
Julian Smith 40 Music Saxophonist Halesowen, England 4 Third place
Kay Oresanya 31 Singing / Variety Human "saxophonist" Glasgow, Scotland (originally Nigeria) 3 Eliminated
Luke Clements 36 Variety Fruit Juggler Cornwall, England 5 Eliminated
Martin "Gos" Matcham 35 Music Guitar player Dover, England 5 Eliminated
MD Showgroup 9–17 Dancing Street dancers Liverpool, England 3 Eliminated (Lost Judges' vote)
Merlin Cadogan 35 Danger Escapologist, Juggler, Breath Holder Devon, England 2 Eliminated
Natalie Okri 10 Singing Singer London 1 Eliminated (Lost Judges' vote)
Nick Hell 26 Danger Freak show/stunt performer Sunderland, England 1 Eliminated
Peter Coghlan 48 Variety Drag act Stafford, England 2 Eliminated
Shaheen Jafargholi 12 Singing Singer Swansea, Wales 3 Finalist (Won Judges' vote)
Shaun Smith 17 Singing Singer Lichfield, England 2 Finalist (Won Judges' vote)
Stavros Flatley 13,40 Comedy / Dancing Comedy Dancers London (originally Cyprus) 3 Finalist (Won Public vote)
Sue Son 24 Music Electric Violinist London 1 Eliminated
Susan Boyle 48 Singing Singer Blackburn, Scotland 1 Runner-up
Sugarfree 16–23 Dancing Street dancers Gravesend, England 4 Eliminated
  • ^1 Ages denoted here are for their last performance in the series.

Semi-final summary

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

Semi-final 1 (24 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result [13]
Cowell Holden Morgan
Diversity 1 Street Dance Group 2nd (Won Judges' vote)
Sue Son 2 Electric Violinist Eliminated
Darth Jackson 3 Darth Vader/Michael Jackson Impersonator Eliminated
Natalie Okri 4 Singer 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Julia Naidenko 5 Belly Dancer Eliminated
Nick Hell 6 Stunt Performer Eliminated
Faces of Disco 7 Comedy Dancers Eliminated
Susan Boyle 8 Singer 1st (Won Public vote)

Semi-final 2 (25 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result [13]
Cowell Holden Morgan
DJ Talent 1 Rapper Eliminated
Merlin Cadogan 2 Escapologist Eliminated
Hot Honeyz 3 Dancers Eliminated
Jamie Pugh 4 Singer Eliminated
Peter Coghlan 5 Drag Act Eliminated
Gareth Oliver 6 Ventriloquist 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Shaun Smith 7 Singer 2nd (Won Judges' vote)
Flawless 8 Street Dance Troupe 1st (Won Public vote)

Semi-final 3 (26 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result [13]
Cowell Holden Morgan
Harmony 1 Musical Theatre Performers Eliminated
Kay Oresanya 2 Human Saxophonist Eliminated
Ben and Becky 3 Ballroom Dancers Eliminated
Shaheen Jafargholi 4 Singer 2nd (Won Judges' vote)
The Barrow Boys 5 Wheelbarrow Dancers Eliminated
MD Showgroup 6 Dancers 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Floral High Notes 7 Opera Singers Eliminated
Stavros Flatley 8 Comedy Dancers 1st (Won Public vote)

Semi-final 4 (28 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result [13]
Cowell Holden Morgan
Sugar Free 1 Dancers Eliminated
Jackie Prescott and Tippy Toes 2 Dancing Dog Act Eliminated
Callum Francis 3 Musical Theatre Performer 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Fred Bowers 4 Breakdancer Eliminated
Brit Chix 5 Rock Band Eliminated
Julian Smith 6 Saxophonist 1st (Won Public vote)
2 Grand 7 Singers 2nd (Won Judges' vote)
Fabia Cerra 8 Burlesque Dancer Eliminated

Semi-final 5 (29 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result [13]
Cowell Holden Morgan
The Dreambears 1 Comedy Dancers Eliminated
Good Evans 2 Singers Eliminated
Luke Clements 3 Extreme Juggler Eliminated
Hollie Steel 4 Soprano Singer 2nd (Won Judges' vote)
Martin Matcham 5 Singer and Guitarist Eliminated
Aidan Davis 6 Dancer 1st (Won public vote)
DCD Seniors 7 Dancers Eliminated
Greg Pritchard 8 Countertenor Singer 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)

Final (30 May)

  Winner |   Runner-up |   3rd place
Finalist Order Act Finished [13]
Flawless 1 Dance Troupe 8th
Shaheen Jafargholi 2 Singer 7th
Aidan Davis 3 Street dancer 5th
2 Grand 4 Singers 10th
Hollie Steel 5 Singer 6th
Stavros Flatley 6 Comedy Dancers 4th
Shaun Smith 7 Singer 9th
Susan Boyle 8 Singer 2nd
Diversity 9 Dance Group 1st
Julian Smith 10 Saxophonist 3rd

Ratings

Episode Date Official ratings
(millions)[14]		 Weekly rank[14] Share
Auditions 1 11 April 11.21 1 45.1%[15]
Auditions 2 18 April 12.95 1 50.6%[16]
Auditions 3 25 April 13.21 1 52.3%[17]
Auditions 4 2 May 11.30 1 47.2%[18]
Auditions 5 9 May 11.98 1 48.4%[19]
Auditions 6 16 May 11.09 1 41.0%[20]
Auditions 7 23 May 12.62 2 51.1%[21]
Semi-final 1 24 May 12.93 1 49.2%[22]
Semi-final 2 25 May 14.66 3 51.6%[23]
Semi-final 3 26 May 13.56 5 49.9%[24]
Semi-final 4 28 May 13.11 6 51.2%[25]
Semi-final 5 29 May 13.84 4 57.3%[26]
Live final 30 May 16.36 2 71%[27]
Live final results 18.29 1 67.6%[27]

Criticism & incidents

Unsuitable content complaint

Following the broadcast of the first audition episode on 11 April 2009, several complaints were made to Ofcom over the programme's decision to air footage of the audition made by burlesque dancer Fabia Cerra. The act was criticised by viewers for being unsuitable for a family audience, primarily because it involved Cerra stripping down to a basque and nipple tassels. In its defence, ITV stated that it had done its utmost to edit the footage, including censoring much of the content and utilising reaction shots of the judges and the audience attending her audition, however the regulator stated that it would be launching an investigation into the matter on the grounds of cross-checking it with their broadcasting codes on content that is suitable for children to watch.[28]

Susan Boyle's well-being

Prior to the live final's broadcast, several media outlets began publishing similar stories about the series' favourite, Susan Boyle, claiming that she faced being axed over the show due to concerns on her mental well-being. The show's producers refuted such claims when they learnt of these, pointing out that the well-being of any participants was a top priority amongst the production team, while Piers Morgan made a statement revealing that she had been close to leaving the show, but stated that this was due to Boyle becoming increasingly "distraught" over the negative press headlines she had reading about.[29]

Having been "emotionally drained" from her efforts to give her best in her performances after the third series ended, Boyle was later admitted to The Priory psychiatric clinic in London to recover, but this raised concerns over what would be published in the media about her health, especially with her well-being gaining considerable attention amongst fans and the public, including then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.[30][31] Seeking to protect Boyle from any unwanted issues from the media, the Press Complaints Commission were contacted for help in ensuring that she was given privacy for the duration of her stay at the clinic. Agreeing to this, the PCC issued a firm warning amongst press editors, stating that they had to adhere to the code of press conduct in regards to its rules on privacy - this included not allowing unauthorised photography to take place and respecting Boyle's entitlement to privacy.[32][33]

References

  1. 1 2 Moore, Matthew (14 January 2009). "Kelly Brook named Britain's Got Talent judge". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  2. ↑ "TV – News – Brook confirmed for 'Britain's Got Talent'". Digital Spy. 13 January 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Kelly Brook Axed From Britain's Got Talent". Daily Mirror. 20 January 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  4. ↑ "TV – News – Brook axed from 'Britain's Got Talent'". Digital Spy. 20 January 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  5. ↑ Leigh Holmwood (14 April 2009). "Britain's got talent hits high note,'". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  6. ↑ "Talent show singer is online hit, BBC". BBC News. 15 April 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Sadie Gray Last updated 7 January 2012 1:16 pm (29 March 2010). "Singing Talent of Susan Boyle Stuns Simon Cowell, Times of London". The Times. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "An unlikely star brings smiles to views, NBC Nightly News". MSNBC. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "Le Monde – Susan Boyle, chanteuse en herbe et vedette sur le Web". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "L'Express – Susan Boyle, la révélation de "Britain's got talent"". L'Express (in French). Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "Le Figaro – La gloire surprise de Susan Boyle". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "Britain's Got Talent – your 40 semi-finalists revealed | STV Entertainment". Entertainment.stv.tv. 23 May 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  14. 1 2 "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  15. ↑ "TV – News – Huge audiences for 'Talent', 'Who'". Digital Spy. 12 April 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  16. ↑ "TV – News – 'Talent' climbs to 11.9 million". Digital Spy. 20 April 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  17. ↑ "'Talent' appeals to 12.2 million". Digital Spy. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  18. ↑ "Latest 'Talent' pulls in 10.5 million". Digital Spy. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  19. ↑ "'Got Talent' back up to 11.1 million". Digital Spy. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  20. ↑ "7.8 million tune in for Eurovision". Digital Spy. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  21. ↑ "'Talent', 'Primeval' help ITV1 win Saturday". Digital Spy. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  22. ↑ Susan Boyle shows 13.6m she's Got Talent Archived 1 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  23. ↑ "Latest 'Talent' peaks with 15.4 million". Digital Spy. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  24. ↑ "12.8 million tune in for third 'Talent' semi". Digital Spy. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  25. ↑ "TV – News – 'Talent' boosts ITV News to 6.1m". Digital Spy. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  26. ↑ "TV – News – Friday 'Talent' pulls in 13.1 million". Digital Spy. 1 June 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  27. 1 2 "TV – News – 'Talent' final peaks with 19.2 million". Digital Spy. 31 May 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  28. ↑ "Britain's Got Talent burlesque stripper prompts dozens of complaints to Ofcom". The Guardian. 15 April 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  29. ↑ "Boyle favourite for Talent finale". BBC News. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  30. ↑ "Talent star Boyle taken to clinic". BBC News. 1 June 2009.
  31. ↑ Jamieson, Alastair (3 June 2009). "Susan Boyle could be in Priory clinic for weeks, says doctor". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  32. ↑ Brook, Stephen (3 June 2009). "Susan Boyle: press warned to back off Britain's Got Talent star". The Guardian. London.
  33. ↑ Editors Code of Practice

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