The waiting is over...here’s the BGT final!

Does it really matter who wins a talent show these days?

Over the years, Britain’s Got Talent has produced some exceptional winners like Paul Potts, Diversity, George Sampson, Richard Jones and Tokio Myers.

However, there are plenty of others who, despite not taking the BGT crown, have since become stars in their own right, including Susan Boyle, Stavros Flatley, Megan McKenna, Escala, Connie Talbot and Twist & Pulse.

Say what you want about this show – if you indeed have talent, Simon Cowell and co will do what they can to make sure you get maximum exposure – and that you go on to be signed to his/their agency.

During the spring, there was a strong possibility that the 2020 run of Britain’s Got Talent would have to be cancelled. ITV’s flagship talent show had to go off-air after the coronavirus pandemic halted the live-show stages of the competition.

However, Cowell and his production team refused to admit defeat and were able to put in some measures (including giant TV screen wall showing members of the cheering public), so the show was able to make a welcome comeback last month.

As is often the case with BGT, it has been the judges who have been grabbing the headlines in 2020, rather than the talented acts on stage.

First up, judge Cowell had to drop out after breaking his back following an electric bike mishap. Then his replacement Ashley Banjo was at the centre of a media storm after performing a controversial new dance with his crew Diversity. Then, there were some very near wardrobe mishaps courtesy of Amanda Holden.

Tonight, Ant and Dec host the 2020 final, as 10 acts battle it out to be crowned Britain’s Got Talent Champion and win the life-changing £250,000 prize plus a coveted role on The Royal Variety Performance.

Before the semi-finals, there were five golden buzzer acts who were all tipped to possibly go all the way – singer Fayth Ifil, comedian and singer Jon Courtney, choir Sign Along With Us, comedian Nabil Abdulrashid, and mother-and-daughter singing duo Honey and Sammy.

However, not all of these have made it through to the final.

So far, we know that comedian Steve Royle, dancers Aaron and Jasmine, magician Magical Bones and comedic pianist Courtenay are all in the final having been sent through by judges Holden, Alesha Dixon, David Walliams and Banjo. They will be joined in line-up by the victor of last weekend’s fifth semi final, as well as five more acts who received the most public votes during each of the semis.

Yes, all of the unlucky semi-finalists are receiving another shot at the big time – before most of them unfortunately become losing finalists tonight.

But in the end, who really cares who wins, other than the acts themselves? As they’ve all made it to this stage, they’re all clearly great performers, and are all winners in the eyes of the viewing public. What’s more, BGT could be just the beginning for a lot of them.

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