The ITV show is making a huge change to the golden buzzer for the 2025 semi-finals, which these lucky acts have already been picked for.
Britain's Got Talent (BGT) has already got off to an exciting start with golden buzzer acts wowing the judges. Now, a brand new twist has been announced for the 2025 live semi-finals.
The ITV contest has been shaking things up this year with a new four-month schedule that will see the semi-finals air live weekly on Saturday nights rather than across a full week as in previous years. On 16 April, another change for the semi-finals was revealed as Good Morning Britain's entertainment reporter Richard Arnold announced that the golden buzzer would return in the semi-finals.
Each of the judges — Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, Bruno Tonioli and stand-in KSI — as well as presenters Ant and Dec get to select a golden buzzer act each in the auditions (although Ant and Dec choose theirs together!). When the judges hit the giant golden buzzer, it automatically guarantees the contestant will perform in the live semi-finals of BGT in the months to come.
However, acts have another chance to be fast-tracked this year as the judges and hosts will be able to pick one semi-finalist for an extra golden buzzer to guarantee a place in the grand final.
Of course, golden buzzer acts are in with a good chance of winning the reality series. The winner of Britain's Got Talent banks £250,000 and the enviable spot performing on stage for King Charles at the Royal Variety Performance 2025. Singer Sydney Christmas, who won the 2024 series of the show, was Holden's golden buzzer act.
Dixon confessed the judges give the golden buzzers out freely now. She said on Loose Women in February: "We give them out like ice cream these days - you have a buzzer! You have a buzzer! The great thing is, we're all into different things, we love different things. I never regret it — I'm the kind of person, if I'm sitting there thinking about whether to press it, I choose not to. I only press it when my heart just feels alive and I'm like I've just got to do it."
New golden buzzer for 2025 semi-finals
BGT has been keen to shake up the excitement for the long-running series this year, and the latest change will see the return of the golden buzzer in the semi-finals for the first time. Each semi-final, an appointed judge will choose one of the eight acts for the golden buzzer, while the public vote chooses the other finalist.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain on 16 April, entertainment reporter Richard Arnold revealed the new show rule. He said: "This year, one judge or Ant and Dec will be allowed to use the buzzer during the semi-finals as well to give their chosen act a spot in the grand finale in May. The other acts will then face the public vote as usual."
Asked how the semi-finals golden buzzer would work, he clarified: "They get to press it just once. They're going to be fighting over that, yeah, they'll all get a chance to do it but it'll be a frenzy and there will be a lot of glitter cannons and a lot of confetti."
Viewers can look forward to five semi-finals, each including eight acts and ITV offered more information about how the golden buzzer will work.
A statement read: "In each of the five live semi-final rounds, either one judge or Ant and Dec will be appointed control of the new golden buzzer. As soon as they see a performance worthy of a place in the final, they will have just one opportunity to press it.
"Judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli as well as presenters Ant and Dec, will have just moments after each performance to make a decision which could change the course of an act’s BGT journey, making them one huge step closer to securing the £250,000 cash prize and a spot on the bill of the Royal Variety Performance."
With a new change spreading the usual week-long live semi-finals out over Saturday nights instead, the golden buzzer looks set to keep viewers glued to the series as it plays out into May.
The first semi-final is set to air on ITV on Saturday, 26 April at 7pm.
Maya Giotea
This year, Golden Buzzer acts have come quite freely, but many viewers had wondered what would encourage Bruno Tonioli to finally press the button. They got their answer when 14-year-old singer Maya Giotea took to the stage to perform the Beyonce song 'Listen'.
Tonioli pressed the buzzer while Maya was still singing her final note, simply saying the word "incredible" before he reached across to hit the button. He told Maya: "This was the most mature and accomplished version of this song I've heard from someone so young. The depth of tone, the control of your voice, the feeling was totally real. You killed it."
Watch: Maya Giotea gives her Golden Buzzer performance
Tonioli didn't waste any time before pressing his button, which led fellow judge Amanda Holden to note that it "must be the quickest buzzer in Britain's Got Talent history". Certainly, very few acts get that sort of urgency from the judges, with the Golden Buzzer usually getting quite a bit of build-up.
Alesha Dixon was also impressed by the Romanian youngster, saying: "Congratulations, firstly. You're 14, the runs, the power, I felt every word."
Linda Mudzenda
Child support worker Linda Mudzenda was so overcome with nerves ahead of her audition that she was in tears as she introduced herself to the judges.
But her nerves melted away as she began to sing Lauren Daigle's You Say, leaving the audience open mouthed and the judges on their feet.
Bruno Tonioli told her: "What an incredible instrument you have at your disposal," as KSI added: "Linda, I don't normally get emotional, but it was so touching to see how you sang. I could feel the nerves as you came to the mic and then you just blessed this whole room with your voice, it was absolutely incredible."
Even bigger praise was to come for Mudzenda as Alesha Dixon finally pressed her Golden Buzzer for the singer.
She said: "I think it's the first time today that I've sat through an audition and my heart was just racing out of my chest. About 15 minutes ago, KSI said to me, 'what is it going to take for you to press your Golden Buzzer...'," as she went on to press it.
Dixon got up on stage to congratulate Mudzenda and said: "It was so emotional, I don't know what you've been through in your life but something was just pouring out of you. And I can't wait to see you in the live shows."
Electric Umbrella
Audiences both in the theatre and at home were in tears at Electric Umbrella's emotional but uplifting audition that saw Simon Cowell press the Golden Buzzer for the second time this series.
The mixed ability band, made up of a huge cast, performed an original song about inclusion that had the judges and audience on their feet.
Ahead of the performance, their band leader said: "The dream is that organisations like us shouldn't have to exist. There should be a space for everybody in every part of community."
Cowell told them: "I feel a wave of goodness here, everything about this was good. For me, this was like being in a movie. It was spectacular. The only downside to this is I don't have any Golden Buzzers left. However...," as he pressed the Golden Buzzer anyway.
He told Amanda Holden as they left the stage: "I love that every single one of them had a part. And by the way, great people. They deserve it."
The Blackouts
Dance group The Blackouts weren't able to introduce themselves until after their performance to get maximum impact from their LED outfits and blackout staging.
All four of the judges were bowled over by their debut routine that showcased some of London's most famous landmarks as a backdrop.
Amanda Holden said of the group from Switzerland: "That was another level," as Bruno Tonioli told them: "It was flawless. I can't wait to see what you're going to do next."
Eventually, the entire panel gave in to the audience chanting "push the Gold" and pressed the Golden Buzzer together.
Dec commented: "We've got a team Golden Buzzer now!"
Olly Pearson
Young Olly Pearson is only 11 years old but he captivated the crowd at Blackpool and the judges with his guitar performance — and walked away with the Golden Buzzer.
At his Britain's Got Talent audition, he played a guitar solo medley that started out with AC/DC tune 'Highway to Hell'.
Watch Olly's performance here
Impressed Amanda Holden pressed her Golden Buzzer for the young guitarist. The judges had huge praise for his performance, including KSI.
"Oliver, you're 11 and you're already a star," KSI told the performer after his routine. "I loved it, it was crazy, you were like a completely different person. Fully deserved that Golden Buzzer."
However, Britain's Got Talent fans were furious saying the Golden Buzzer had been wrecked for them because they couldn't hear Pearson playing over the music edited on top of the ITV show.
Speaking to This Morning about how thrilled he was to get the Golden Buzzer, Pearson said: "I can't even explain it, I was so nervous when I went on but as soon as I hit that first chord all my worries went."
Giving a hint about what he was planning for the semi-finals, he added: "It's going to be bigger, better, louder."
Vinnie McKee
Singer Vinnie McKee was the first to receive the golden buzzer in BGT's launch show after capturing the attention of Cowell.
The holiday park entertainer, from Glasgow, performed The Proclaimers' I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) to his biggest audience at Blackpool, with all the celebrity judges watching.
Music mogul Cowell admitted he was left "speechless" by McKee's performance on stage, prompting him to press the golden buzzer — as seen in the video below.
Watch Vinnie McKee's performance here
"That's what it's all about," Cowell told him after pressing the button.
Backstage, McKee told Ant and Dec: "I don't even know what to say... That's mad [about being put through to the live shows]. Things like this don't happen to people like me. So I was like?!"
Ant affectionately touched him on the shoulder and told him: "Things like that do happen to people like you when they are that talented."
Will Burns
Impressionist Will Burns was the second golden buzzer act of the launch show after getting the attention of Ant and Dec. Burns, from Leeds, put together a hilarious sketch of impressions, including one of Dec's famous moment in Byker Grove when his character PJ is blinded by a paintball gun and says: "I cannot see man."
The voice act, 24, also pulled off funny impressions of the voices behind The X Factor, Celebrity Big Brother and Gogglebox. Notably, the TV personality perfected his impression of beloved animal historian David Attenborough — as seen in the video below.
Watch Will Burns' performance here
Music mogul Cowell said the Geordie duo would be "smug" after choosing the impressionist as their golden buzzer act because he has a good chance of winning the series.
Burns might be the biggest fan of Britain's Got Talent as he told judges that he had show-themed birthday parties and even a BGT room with a Cowell bobblehead.
Backstage, he later told Ant and Dec: "I can't believe what's just happened. That should not have happened! Best day of my entire life. I'll try not to let you down."
Stacey Leadbeatter
Guest judge KSI got to press the golden buzzer for the first time in episode two after being bowled over by supermarket worker Stacey Leadbeatter from Yorkshire.
Leadbeatter, who usually works on the cooked chickens counter, admitted to suffering from severe nerves ahead of her performance but was cheered on by her mum and nine-year-old daughter - who happened to be a huge KSI fan.
Her version of Snow Patrol's Run left the judges open mouthed and the crowd chanting her name as well as "press the buzzer".
KSI said: "Oh my god, this audience! Fine, I'll do it," as a shocked Leadbeatter watched him press the golden buzzer, sending her straight through to the live semi-finals.
The judge got up on stage to hug Leadbeatter, who said she had only sung in a pub previously, and told her: "What a voice, oh my gosh! Just for a pub? The pub are lucky to have you, that's incredible."
Watch Stacey Leadbeatter's audition here
Cowell added: "That's a really difficult song to sing and you absolutely nailed it. The audience just fell in love with you, they did that because you're really good. I really hope this is going to give you a confidence lift because that's the only thing, you're lacking a bit of confidence and you shouldn't because you really, really are good."
KSI said: "The voice that came out of your mouth...I was in awe, I had to press that golden buzzer. You absolutely smashed it, Stacey."
Speaking to ITV's Lorraine on Monday morning, Leadbeatter said: "It's surreal, it's like an out of body experience."
Talking about her daughter, she added: "She's my biggest fan and the fact that she's obsessed with KSI as well..."
The singer continued: "I was very overwhelmed, it didn't seem real. I'm still like that now to be honest, even watching it and knowing that I've been there. It's incredible, it's the best feeling ever."
As for her plans for the semi-finals, she said: "All I'm going to say is, I'm going to go bigger and better."
Britain's Got Talent continues on Saturday at 7pm on ITVX.
