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 (guest)
Presenter(s) Anthony McPartlin (ITV)
Declan Donnelly (ITV)
Co-presenter(s) Stephen Mulhern (ITV2)
Broadcaster ITV
ITV2 (BGMT)
Winner
Ashleigh and Pudsey
Origin Wellingborough, England
Genre(s) Dog trick act
Runner-up
Jonathan and Charlotte

Series Six of Britain's Got Talent, a British talent competition series, began broadcasting in the UK during 2012, from 24 March to 12 May on ITV - many media outlets criticised the series' premiere date, believing it was a deliberate attempt to start a "ratings war" with the BBC, which was launching The Voice UK at the same time.[1] Following the previous year, Simon Cowell returned to the programme to oversee auditions for the sixth series,[2] while the departure of both David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre after the fifth series,[3][4] led to the producers replacing them with Alesha Dixon and David Walliams.[5] Because of her pregnancy, Amanda Holden had to miss some of the auditions, leading to Carmen Electra standing in for her as a guest judge.[6][7]

Apart from retaining the use of four judges following the previous series, the sixth series is most notable for three significant changes made in the show's format - the prize money was increased to £500,000;[8] the number of semi-finalists per semi-final was increased to 9; and the judges could now choose any semi-finalist that was eliminated and re-instate them into the live final as the "Judges' Wildcard". In addition, the series introduced a second means of voting for viewers in the form of mobile short codes - each participant received one during the show would could be called from any phone, with a small portion of the phone-in fee being donated to charity. Unlike The X Factor, text voting via this method was not incorporated, due to the potential risk of delays within the mobile text networks at busy times.[9]

The sixth series was won by dancing dog act Ashleigh and Pudsey, with opera duo Jonathan and Charlotte finishing in second place and Welsh choir Only Boys Aloud in third place. During its broadcast, the series averaged around 10.6 million viewers. In an interview they took part in, hosts Ant & Dec felt that this year's semi-finalists were the best they had seen since the show began.[10]

Series overview

Judge
Judge
The departure of McIntyre and Hasselhoff, led to Dixon and Walliams being made as their replacements at the start of 2012
Because of Holden's pregnancy, Electra had to stand in for her during the Blackpool auditions

Following open auditions held the previous year,[11][12] the Judges' auditions were held during January and February 2012, within Manchester,[13] 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.[14] 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.

Following the previous series, both David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre announced that they wouldn't be returning for another year of the competition.[3][4] 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.[5] Owing to her pregnancy entering its late stages, Holden was forced to be absent from the Blackpool auditions.[6] 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.[7][15] 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.[8]

Of the participants that took part, only forty five made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals,[16] 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:


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

Semi-finals summary

Buzzed out
Judges' vote
  Won the public vote |   Won the judges' vote; won by public vote in the event of a tie
  Lost the judges' vote; lost by public vote in the event of a tie |   Eliminated

Semi-final 1 (6 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result[17]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
Zipparah Tafari 1 Comedy Rapper 4th - Eliminated
The Jive Aces 2 Swing Jazz Band 7th - Eliminated
Lauren Thalia 3 Singer And Guitarist 5th - Eliminated
United We Stand 4 Street Dance Troupe 9th - Eliminated
Analiza Ching 5 Violinist 8th - Eliminated
The Mend 1 6 Boy Band 3rd (Judges' vote tied - Lost on Public Vote)
Rachel Knowland 7 Singer 6th - Eliminated
Ashleigh & Pudsey 8 Dog Act 1st (Won Public vote)
Only Boys Aloud 9 Male Vocal Choir 2nd (Judges' vote tied - Won on Public vote)
  • ^1 The Mend were later sent through to the final as a wildcard after the semi-finals.

Semi-final 2 (7 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result[17]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
Cascade 1 Martial Arts Stunt Team 8th - Eliminated
Paige Turley 2 Singer 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Karizma Krew 3 Dance Troupe 5th - Eliminated
The Showbears 4 Entertainers 7th - Eliminated
Fish on Percussion 5 Percussionist 9th - Eliminated
Graham Blackledge 6 Singer And Organist 6th - Eliminated
Kai and Natalia 7 Latin Ballroom Couple 2nd (Won Judges' vote)
Four Corners 8 Dance Troupe 4th - Eliminated
Jonathan and Charlotte 9 Opera Duo 1st (Won Public vote)

Semi-final 3 (8 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result[17]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
The Zimmers 1 Comedy Rappers 6th - Eliminated
Area 51 2 Pyrotechnic Dance Troupe 8th - Eliminated
Ashley Elliot 3 Xylophonist 5th - Eliminated
Molly Rainford 4 Singer 2nd (Judges' vote tied - Won on Public vote)
Lucky 5 Contortionist 7th - Eliminated
Loveable Rogues 6 Acoustic Group 1st (Won Public vote)
Honey Shazad 7 Singer 9th - Eliminated
Twist and Pulse Dance Company 8 Street Dance Troupe 3rd (Judges' vote tied - Lost on Public vote)
Dennis Egel 9 Entertainer 4th - Eliminated

Semi-final 4 (9 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result[17]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
Chica Latina 1 Entertainer 9th - Eliminated
Brynolf and Ljung 2 Illusionists 5th - Eliminated
Malaki Paul 3 Singer 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Gatis Kandis 4 Comedian 6th - Eliminated
The Sugar Dandies 5 Ballroom Dancers 7th - Eliminated
Nu Sxool 6 Dance Troupe 2nd (Won Judges' vote)
Beatrix von Bourbon 7 Burlesque Dancer 8th - Eliminated
Sam Kelly 8 Singer And Guitarist 1st (Won Public vote)
Be Minor 9 Girl Band 4th - Eliminated

Semi-final 5 (10 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result[17]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
Face Team 1 Basketball Stunt Team 6th - Eliminated
Greig Stewart 2 Laser Harpist 9th - Eliminated
Billy George 3 Cyr Wheel Acrobat 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Martyn Crofts 4 Dalek Voice Impersonator 8th - Eliminated
Callum Oakley 5 Comedian 4th - Eliminated
Hope Murphy 6 Singer 5th - Eliminated
Strictly Wheels 7 Wheelchair Ballroom Dancers 7th - Eliminated
Aquabatique 2 8 Synchronised Swimmers 2nd (Won Judges' vote)
Ryan O'Shaughnessy 9 Singer And Guitarist 1st (Won Public vote)
  • ^2 Aquabatique performed outside the studio, with the judges watching from inside.

Final (12 May)

  Winner |   Runner-up |   3rd place
Finalist Order Act Finished[17]
The Mend 1 Boy Band 7th
Sam Kelly 2 Singer/guitarist 9th
Nu Sxool 3 Dance Troupe 8th
Molly Rainford 4 Singer 6th
Loveable Rogues 5 Acoustic Group 4th
Kai and Natalia 6 Latin Ballroom Dancers 11th
Aquabatique 3 7 Synchronised Swimmers 10th
Ryan O'Shaughnessy 8 Singer And Guitarist 5th
Only Boys Aloud 9 Male Vocal Choir 3rd
Ashleigh and Pudsey 10 Dog act 1st
Jonathan and Charlotte 11 Opera Duo 2nd
  • ^3 Aquabatique performed outside the studio, with the judges watching from inside.

Ratings

Episode Date Total viewers (millions)[20] Weekly rank[20] Share (%)
Auditions 1 24 March11.57339.2[21]
Auditions 2 31 March12.17141.3[22]
Auditions 3 7 April11.95138.7[23]
Auditions 4 14 April12.18139.5[24]
Auditions 5 21 April11.60138.2[25]
Auditions 6 28 April11.97141.8[26]
Auditions 7 5 May11.27138.9[27]
Semi-final 1 6 May11.01235.5[28]
Semi-final 2 7 May10.77235.6[29]
Semi-final 2 results 9.44932.4[29]
Semi-final 3 8 May9.121233.5[30]
Semi-final 3 results 7.911527.8[30]
Semi-final 4 9 May10.15337.6[31]
Semi-final 4 results 7.951427.3[31]
Semi-final 5 10 May9.90736.6[32]
Semi-final 5 results 8.831330.2[32]
Live final 12 May13.12146.4[33]

Criticism, controversies & incidents

Unsuitable content complaint

After the second audition episode had been aired, around over 70 complaints were made to Ofcom in regards to the performance of burlesque performer Beatrix Von Bourbon. Their criticism was over her audition, which involved stripping down until she wore only nipple tassels and a corset, which these viewers had felt to be unsuitable for a family show, especially as it had been shown before the 9pm watershed.[34] In its defence to this criticism, ITV released a statement in which they pointed out that the footage that was aired had been "carefully edited to ensure it was suitable". Ofcom launched an investigation into the matter which ran until 23 July 2012, in which, based on their findings, the regulator ruled that the broadcaster had not breached broadcasting codes that concerned the protection of children from unsuitable material, stating that the measures taken by the broadcaster had been within acceptable parameters of these codes.[35]

"Conflict of interest" audition

As part of the show's terms and conditions, stated in Section 23 regarding audition forms, all participants who audition for Britain's Got Talent must provide truthful information about themselves. Such disclosure includes information about any other show they are contracted to appear on, which would prohibit them from progressing beyond the auditions stage of the competition. While checking his background, researchers discovered that when singer/guitarist Ryan O'Shaughnessy had auditioned, he was already in a contract with Universal Music and had a place on the first series of The Voice of Ireland that was airing the same year as the sixth series of the show. This discovery led to Simon Cowell having to talk to O'Shaughnessy on his own and pointing out the researcher's findings to him, to which the singer stated in his defence that he wanted the freedom to express his own music that the competition show could give him, which The Voice of Ireland restricted. However, Cowell did not agree with his argument:[36][37][38]

"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, while accepting this decision, insisted he would do what he could to get out of The Voice of Ireland and out of his contract with Universal Music, which he successfully completed before the live semi-finals began on 6 May.

Voting app mishap

For this series of Britain's Got Talent, the show's production team decided to incorporate a second new method of voting that viewers could use, in the form of a mobile app. The concept for this idea was that viewers could purchase a set of three votes for a small fee and then use them, via the app, for any act that they liked in the semi-finals; any votes not used in one show would be carried forward to the next, and once all three votes had been used, the viewer would have to buy another set to place further votes. However, when this voting method was implemented for the first live semi-final, technical difficulties arose that led to use of the app being halted; as the problems could not be fixed after they arose, the decision was made to discontinue its use for the rest of the series. Ofcom later investigated the incident, after thousands of viewers who bought the app later complained to the regulator of their difficulties in using it to make votes, as over the half of the votes did not go through as a result of the technical fault. In their findings, the regulator reprimanded ITV for having failed to ensure that the app worked smoothly upon its activation, adding:

"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, Ofcom acknowledged that the concept of voting via smartphones was an original idea and that ITV was not at fault for the technical issues that arose from its use, while commending the broadcaster for providing sufficient action to deal with the aftermath of the fault.[39]

References

  1. ↑ Littlejohn, Georgina (7 March 2012). "Let the TV talent show battle commence! The Voice and Britain's Got Talent set to launch on the same night". Daily Mail. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  2. ↑ Tobin, Christian (7 December 2011). "Simon Cowell to return to 'Britain's Got Talent', confirms ITV boss". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  3. 1 2 Tobin, Christian (20 November 2011). "Michael McIntyre quits 'Britain's Got Talent'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  4. 1 2 Sperling, Daniel (29 November 2011). "David Hasselhoff confirms 'Britain's Got Talent' exit". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  5. 1 2 Emma Hallett (2 January 2012). "Alesha Dixon quits Strictly Come Dancing for Britain's Got Talent". The Independent. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  6. 1 2 Bull, Sarah (26 January 2012). "Pregnant Amanda's two nights in hospital after pulling out of Britain's Got Talent auditions". London: Daily Mail. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Carmen Electra confirmed as 'Britain's Got Talent' guest judge". DigitalSpy. UK. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  8. 1 2 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.
  9. ↑ Britain's Got Talent - Short Codes
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ "BGT holds first ever Open Audition". ITV. itv.com. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  13. ↑ "Simon Cowell 'finds a star' on day one of Britain's Got Talent auditions in Manchester". menmedia.co.uk. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  14. ↑ "Audition NOW through YouTube!". itv.com. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  15. ↑ Daniels, Colin (27 November 2011). "Dannii Minogue, David Walliams 'join Britain's Got Talent'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  16. ↑ McGarry, Lisa (26 February 2012). "Britain's Got Talent 2012 semi finalists all chosen". Unreality TV. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "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.
  18. ↑ @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.
  19. ↑ Britain's Got Talent 2012: Wildcard revealed and Diversity perform! | Unreality TV
  20. 1 2 "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  21. ↑ Millar, Paul (25 March 2012). "'The Voice' UK, 'Britain's Got Talent' launch with colossal ratings". Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  22. ↑ Millar, Paul (1 April 2012). "'The Voice' UK, 'Britain's Got Talent' ratings soar in second week". Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  23. ↑ Millar, Paul (8 April 2012). "'The Voice' UK closes ratings gap on 'Britain's Got Talent'". Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  24. ↑ Millar, Paul (15 April 2012). "'The Voice' UK overtakes 'Britain's Got Talent' in ratings". Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  25. ↑ Millar, Paul (22 April 2012). "Britain's Got Talent pips The Voice as ratings battle intensifies". Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  26. ↑ Millar, Paul (29 April 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent' extends lead over 'The Voice' UK". Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  27. ↑ Millar, Paul (6 May 2012). "'The Voice' UK anchored BBC One's night with 8.16m". Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  28. ↑ Millar, Paul (7 May 2012). "'Homeland' first season bows out in style with nearly 3m for C4". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  29. 1 2 Lee, Ben (8 May 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent' secures 9.4 million for ITV1". Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  30. 1 2 Lee, Ben (9 May 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent' dips in ratings for third semi-final". Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  31. 1 2 Lee, Ben (10 May 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent' results show beats 'The Apprentice'". Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  32. 1 2 Millar, Paul (11 May 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent' last semi-final results show rebounds to 8.2m". Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  33. ↑ Millar, Paul (13 May 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent' final is most watched show of 2012". Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  34. ↑ Wrenn, Eddie (23 April 2012). "Ofcom to investigate Britain's Got Talent after raunchy burlesque act goes out before watershed". Daily Mail. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  35. ↑ "Ofcom clears Britain's Got Talent burlesque act". BBC News. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  36. ↑ "Britain's Got Talent news: Ryan O'Shaughnessy to be axed from show after The Voice refuse to release him from contract". The Sun. London.
  37. ↑ "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.
  38. ↑ "Simon Cowell drops Ryan O'Shaughnessy from 'Britain's Got Talent'?". Digital Spy. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  39. ↑ Fahy, Colette (23 July 2012). "ITV rapped by Ofcom over BGT voting fiasco after smartphone app failed to cope with demand". Daily Mail. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
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