Britain's Got Talent series 19

Last updated

Britain's Got Talent
Series 19
Presented by Ant & Dec
Judges Simon Cowell
Amanda Holden
Alesha Dixon
KSI
Stacey Solomon (guest)
Release
Original network ITV1
Original release21 February 2026 (2026-02-21) 
present
Series chronology
 Previous
Series 18
List of episodes

The nineteenth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent began airing on ITV1 on 21 February 2026. [1] Filming for the auditions began in October 2025 in Birmingham and Blackpool. The series will be 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. [2] [3]

Contents

Judges and presenter(s) for Britain's Got Talent series 19

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. [4] 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. [5] [6] 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. [7] [8]

Auditions for the series began on 3 October 2025 at the Birmingham Hippodrome. [9] [10] 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. [11] [12] [13] The series began on 21 February 2026, and as in the previous series, will air weekly excluding 14 March due to ITV airing live coverage of the final match weekend 2026 Six Nations Championship. Additionally, the show will be broadcast on 17 May, due to the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 final airing the day before. [14]

  Winner
  Runner-up
  Third Place
  Semi-Finalist
Playing card club A.svg Wildcard
Yellow ffff00 pog.svg Golden Buzzer
Crystal Clear action bookmark.png Live Show Golden Buzzer

ParticipantAge(s)GenreActFromSemi-finalResult
Antigravity Yellow ffff00 pog.svg 36-40VarietyMultimedia Group Ukraine
Paul Nunnari Yellow ffff00 pog.svg 52AcrobaticsWheelchair Aerialist Sydney, Australia
Rafferty Coope Yellow ffff00 pog.svg 16MagicMagician Winchester, Hampshire

Semi-finals summary

Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Buzzed out | Crystal Clear app clean.svg Judges' vote |   Won the Judges' Vote |   Won the Public's Vote
  Lost Judges' Vote |   Eliminated

Prior to the beginning of the live shows, the semi-finalists will be announced after a deliberation stage. [15]

Ratings

EpisodeAir dateTotal viewers
(millions) [16]
ITV
Weekly rank [16]
Auditions 121 February
Auditions 228 February
Auditions 37 March
Auditions 421 March
Auditions 528 March
Auditions 64 April
Auditions 711 April
Auditions 818 April
Semi-Final 125 April
Semi-Final 22 May
Semi-Final 39 May
Semi-Final 417 May
Semi-Final 523 May
Final30 May

References

  1. Cotton, Elizabeth (12 February 2026). "Britain's Got Talent returns as first episode date confirmed". Manchester Evening News . Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  2. "Ant & Dec almost quit Britain's Got Talent after not "having a very nice time" with Simon Cowell". Digital Spy . 27 January 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  3. "Britain's Got Talent start date confirmed - here's when 2026 series will be on TV and streaming". Digital Spy . 11 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  4. Mensah, Katelyn. "When is Britain's Got Talent 2026 on TV? Release date and latest news | Radio Times". Radio Times . Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  5. Hurst, Ben (26 July 2025). "Bruno Tonioli 'quits' as BGT judge with replacement 'lined up'". Wales Online . Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  6. "KSI is Britain's Got Talent's new judge". BBC . 2 September 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  7. "KSI is Britain's Got Talent's newest judge after Bruno Tonioli moves on". BBC News . 2 September 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  8. "Britain's Got Talent confirms new judge after Bruno Tonioli exit". Digital Spy . 1 September 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  9. Eales, Courtney (12 February 2026). "Britain's Got Talent return date confirmed by ITV". Liverpool Echo . Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  10. "Britain's Got Talent auditions are back - here's everything you need to know". Blackpool Gazette. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  11. Sansome, Jessica (17 October 2025). "Simon Cowell admits real reason for Britain's Got Talent absence". Manchester Evening News . Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  12. "Britain's Got Talent series 19 start date confirmed". Rayo . Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  13. Zone, T. V. (29 June 2025). "Britain's Got Talent heads back to Birmingham and returns to Blackpool for next series". TV Zone UK. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  14. Sport, Telegraph (14 February 2026). "Six Nations 2026: Fixtures, results, squads and how to watch on TV". The Telegraph . Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  15. "Britain's Got Talent: Everything you need to know about the popular TV show". Planet Radio. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  16. 1 2 "BARB Weekly Top Programmes on Four Screens". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.