The Border Collie is a British breed of herding dog of the collie type of medium size. It originates in the region of the Anglo-Scottish border, and descends from the traditional sheepdogs once found all over the British Isles. It is kept mostly as a working sheep-herding dog or as a companion animal. It competes with success in sheepdog trials. It has been claimed that it is the most intelligent breed of dog.
A herding dog, also known as a stock dog or working dog, is a type of dog that either has been trained in herding livestock or belongs to one of the breeds that were developed for herding. A dog specifically trained to herd sheep is known as a sheep dog or shepherd dog, and one trained to herd cattle is known as a cattle dog or cow dog.
The Rough Collie is a long-coated dog breed of medium to large size that, in its original form, was a type of collie used and bred for herding sheep in Scotland. More recent breeding has focused on the Collie as a show dog, and also companion. The breed specifications call for a distinctive long narrow tapered snout and tipped (semiprick) ears, so some dogs have their ears taped when young. Rough Collies generally come in shades of sable and white, blue merle, tri-coloured, and colour-headed white.
Scissor Sisters are an American pop rock band formed in 2000. Their members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real as drummer. Scissor Sisters incorporate diverse styles in their music, but tend to sway towards pop rock, glam rock, nu-disco, and electroclash. Forged in the "gay nightlife scene of New York", the band took its name from the female same-sex sexual activity of tribadism.
Musical canine freestyle, also known as musical freestyle, freestyle dance, and canine freestyle, is a modern dog sport that is a mixture of obedience training, tricks, and dance that allows for creative interaction between dogs and their owners. The sport has developed into competition forms in several countries around the world.
Dave Spikey is an English comedian, actor, writer and film producer. He is best known for his stand-up comedy, writing and starring in the British comedy programme Phoenix Nights, presenting Bullseye and Chain Letters, and serving as team captain for the first four series of 8 Out of 10 Cats.
Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.
Britain's Got Talent is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global Got Talent franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, it is produced by both Thames and Syco Entertainment, distributed by Fremantle, and broadcast on ITV every year in late Spring to early Summer. The show was originally intended for production in 2005, but filming was suspended in the wake of a dispute between ITV and the programme's originally planned host. Following the success of America's Got Talent that year, production resumed and the programme eventually premiered on 9 June 2007.
Heelwork to music is a dog sport similar to musical canine freestyle.
George William Sampson is an English street dancer, television presenter, singer, and actor. He won the second series of Britain's Got Talent on 31 May 2008 at the age of 14. He is an official ambassador of the United Dance Organisation.
Signature are English dance duo Suleman Mirza and Madhu Singh. Their style of dance is British Bhangra and they frequently base their performances around Michael Jackson songs, such as "Billie Jean" and "Thriller". They gained wide recognition during their performances in the second series of Britain's Got Talent, in which they were runners-up to the winner street dancer George Sampson.
Kev Orkian is a British-Armenian comedian. He has performed around the world from New York City, Los Angeles and Toronto to Dubai, Oman and Australia. Orkian has been compared to the likes of Victor Borge, Les Dawson and Dudley Moore.
Diversity are a British street dance troupe formed in 2007 and based in London. They are best known for winning the third series of Britain's Got Talent in 2009, beating Susan Boyle in the live final.
Spelbound are a gymnastic troupe from the United Kingdom who rose to fame in 2010, winning the fourth series of Britain's Got Talent. The prize was £100,000 and the opportunity to appear at the 2010 Royal Variety Performance. They also performed in the Britain's Got Talent Live tour. They have since performed at numerous venues and have been featured in advertisements.
Flawless are an English street dance troupe based in the UK who competed on the third series of Britain's Got Talent in 2009. Flawless made the final of the competition, appearing alongside fellow street dance troupe Diversity.
Ashley Glazebrook and Glen Murphy, better known by their stage name Twist and Pulse, are an English street dance duo based in London. They were the runners-up of the fourth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2010, coming second to Spelbound in the live final, but later won the spinoff show Britain's Got Talent: The Champions in 2019, becoming the Champion of Champions.
Ashleigh and Pudsey was a British dog trick act, comprising trainer Ashleigh Jade Butler and Pudsey, a male Border Collie, Bichon Frise, and Chinese Crested powderpuff cross. They achieved prominence as contestants in the sixth series of the television talent show Britain's Got Talent, which they won on 12 May 2012, becoming the first dog trick act to win the competition.
Olate Dogs is an American dog trick act featuring father-and-son trainers Richard and Nicholas Olate. The group won the seventh season (2012) of America's Got Talent, claiming the US$1,000,000 first prize.
The ninth series of the British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, from 11 April to 31 May 2015. The series saw the "Wildcard" format introduced in the sixth series being modified in this series to include a "Public Wildcard" – like the "Judges' Wildcard" any act eliminated in the semi-finals, primarily those that lost out in the Judges' vote, could be reinstated by the public, based on the one that received the most votes from them before the final. Although speculations and rumours began to emerge after the previous series ended, claiming that some of the judges would be leaving before the ninth series, these were later dismissed as being unfounded by ITV, on 16 January 2015.
Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse are a British dog dancing act, comprising trainer Jules O'Dwyer, a 52-year-old woman, and her dog Matisse, a male Border Collie. Together they won the ninth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2015.
