Britain's Got Talent is back at ITV for 2025 with a new guest judge - but who has sat on the panel over the years?
Britain's Got Talent is back for 2025, with a fresh new schedule and more jaw-droppingly talented contestants hoping to win the ITV show. While the main judges are all set for a comeback, we'll also see a brand new guest judge as KSI makes his debut.
It's clear that BGT is a great gig for TV judges as the star line-up is entering its third year unchanged, and stayed the same for a decade before that. Two of the judges have been in place since the show began in 2007.
Who is in the current line-up, and who has judged the talent contest over the years? We take a look back at the long-serving judges, who went before them, and who has worked with who as we head into series 18 on ITV1.
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All the Britain's Got Talent judges and line-ups so far
Britain's Got Talent gets an early February launch this year and for the first time will spread its live shows out over consecutive Saturday nights rather than a full week, making for a supersize series. But it isn't all change, as the judging line-up remains a constant.
Perennial judges Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden are of course back again, while Alesha Dixon, who is not far behind them in series of BGT to her name, joins them once more. Former Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli returns for a third year, although this time social media star, musician and boxer KSI will stand in for him at some of the auditions.
Take a look at each judge's history on the ITV1 show, and all the combinations of judges we've seen so far.
Simon Cowell
Show boss Cowell has been a constant since the show was first dreamed up and also helms the US version America's Got Talent, another huge hit.
While his original talent show hit The X Factor has now been shelved, BGT continues to go from strength to strength.
On its success, he said: "It's that surprise element of never knowing what's coming next. As much as I love music shows, you know a singer's followed by another singer. With this show, when we are watching the auditions or when my friends are watching it back, you just don't know what's going to happen. People still think after all these years that I know what’s happening during auditions, no one tells us anything. We have no idea who's coming on until they appear on stage."
He added that moments from the show going viral had boosted his global fame: "When I go out, people come up to me from every corner of the world to say they’ve seen this clip or that clip online, it's kind of cool that wherever you go, people have seen what you do. I am proud of that."
Amanda Holden
Serving on the panel for just as long as Cowell is his right hand woman Holden, who still loves the show 18 series in.
Holden has seen every line-up of judges over the years, has grown her family during its run and has dazzled in outfits that have hit headlines more than once in the live shows. She also championed current BGT queen Sydnie Christmas as her golden buzzer choice in 2024.
Talking about her history on the show, she said: "Well, I’m just thrilled to still be here first of all!...The amount of people who came on this year and said they remember watching it when they were five or very young, I was like, 'God, I feel old!' But it’s amazing to have reached this milestone and I still have the honour of being on the panel."
She added: "I get stopped in all sorts of weird places, like in the middle of the sea, you know when you swim out to a sunbathing platform, somebody says something and you realise they’re talking about BGT. I’ve had it when I’ve been fishing too. It's just really odd places. It’s normally when I'm on holiday though. I remember when I got off a plane once in Dubai and there was a poster with all us judges on it that ran for about a mile along the stretch of motorway. You just go, 'oh my God, it’s massive over here!' It's incredible. I love it."
Holden has also backed the decision to move the 2025 live semi-finals and final to a weekly schedule, saying: "It’s like a party at the weekend. Everyone can pour themselves a drink, order a takeaway and have a laugh! Then they can decide if they want to go out afterwards. Or of course they can catch up on the sofa on a Sunday."
Alesha Dixon
Former Mis-Teeq singer Dixon was a huge signing for the show in 2012, as they poached her from BBC rival Strictly Come Dancing's judging panel. She actually joined five years after Cowell and Holden, but is now as much a regular fixture as the original stars.
Dixon said: "Amanda being there from the start and her daughter Lexi, literally growing up with the show, it’s kind of amazing really...The show has been going so long, what a testament to everyone that has worked on the show."
She added: "Every single person has a story to tell. That, to me, is what makes it magical because I just love hearing people's stories and finding out about people and what's brought them to this point in their life. That is the heart and soul of it. I think that's what gives it its edge...It celebrates everything that is amazing about Britain, but at the same time embraces the world and the multiculturalism that we are blessed to have in this country, too.
"It's got so many pluses to it and I think it should be treasured because I can't think of another show on television that my entire family, from my nan to my kids, watch. So I just feel super, super lucky to still be a part of such a brilliant show that is loved by so many people."
Bruno Tonioli
In such an established cast, Tonioli is still the new boy going into his third season. He replaced David Walliams in 2023 having previously stepped back from the Strictly judging panel, and hasn't looked back.
"There isn't anything like it," Tonioli said of BGT. "It covers everything from dancers, singers, acrobats, comedians, you name it, we've got it! And this kind of variety show is something that is rare."
He added that his favourite part of the show was "the whole sense of wondering what's going to happen next, which is a constant surprise, the constant amazement, sometimes the horror! That's really what keeps you on your toes, because you don't know what's going to happen from one moment to the other."
Speaking to This Morning ahead of the 2025 series launch, Tonioli said that his years of dance auditions had left him with a lot of sympathy for the acts: "I know how hard it is to go in front of an audience and audition."
But he added of the live audience's vocal reaction to his judging: "I love a good boo! Bring it on! I love live TV, I feed off it."
Cheryl, the BGT judge that almost was
BGT fans might not know that the show could have looked very different if Cowell had secured the first judging line-up he chose.
Ahead of the 2025 series launch, he told how he had actually wanted close friend and X Factor colleague Cheryl for the job, but that she had backed out at the last minute - leaving him scrabbling for a replacement before finally landing on Holden as a judge.
He said of Holden: "She is our Britain’s Got Talent queen and she deserves that crown. And you know what? She was an interesting booking because we'd offered the role to Cheryl Cole, as she was known in those days.
"A week before filming, she calls me and goes, 'I just can't do it' and wouldn't give me a reason. I think she was freaked out. We literally had two judges and a week to book someone. I just knew it had to be Amanda because I’d met her and I really liked her, she was very funny and I just thought she’d fit the show perfectly.
"Fast forward 18 years and she's still a huge success and we have become great friends. I do consider her one of my best friends. And Alesha and Bruno, are genuinely friends in real life too."
Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Piers Morgan: 2007 - 2010
Once Cowell had secured Holden as Cheryl's replacement for the series launch, he was ready to go with controversial broadcaster Piers Morgan completing the original cast.
Despite the risk of that being too much Mr Nasty for one judging line-up, it worked strangely well while it lasted - until Morgan left to launch his US TV career.
Back in those days, there were only three seats on the panel, although Kelly Brook was brought in as an extra judge for series three. However, less than a week after she began, show bosses decided a fourth judge overcomplicated things and so she was credited as a guest judge instead.
Cowell's old X Factor pal Louis Walsh also debuted as a guest judge in series four when Cowell fell ill and couldn't attend some of the auditions.
Amanda Holden, David Hasselhoff, Michael McIntyre: 2011
The show's first big line-up change came in series five, with Morgan off to break America and Cowell hot on his heels launching The X Factor USA.
Holden was the only original panel member left holding the fort for the whole series, although Cowell did manage to return as a fourth judge in time for the live shows.
In the meantime, Holden was joined by Baywatch star David Hasselhoff and comedian Michael McIntyre, although the combo was short-lived as both new signings didn't want to come back for series six.
Walsh was a guest judge again during one audition round, covering for Hasselhoff who was performing in a pantomime.
Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, David Walliams: 2012 - 2022
So began the longest running line-up which lasted from series six of Britain's Got Talent up to 2022.
Cowell returned full-time to oversee the panel, Holden stayed on in her usual seat, and the show recruited Dixon and Walliams to join them.
Dixon had been a judge on BBC rival Strictly Come Dancing but was lured to ITV by Cowell, while Walliams rounded out the panel, making what had seemed like a strange job for a comedian when McIntyre took it on fit perfectly.
However, Walliams' reputation as friend of the contestants appeared to come crashing down in November 2022 when The Guardian uncovered a leaked audio recording from the 2020 auditions in which he was heard making some very derogatory remarks about contestants.
Walliams apologised, saying: "I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020. These were private conversations and — like most conversations with friends — were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry."
But the damage was done, and after rumours that Alan Carr would replace him, the latest judge was eventually confirmed as Tonioli.
There were a few guest judge additions over the years - in series six, Carmen Electra covered for Holden for some of the auditions as she recovered from her daughter's birth.
Cowell has also had a few stand-ins, including hosts Ant and Dec covering a day of auditions for him in series eight, Walliams' mum Kathleen who was in the audience filling in when he was late to work in series 10, and former BGT winner Diversity star Ashley Banjo replacing him during series 14 after his electric bike accident.
Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, Bruno Tonioli: 2023 - present
Returning for 2025 is the full line-up that has been in place since 2023, and they all sound keen to continue for as long as possible.
Speaking about the current cast's bond, Cowell said: "We do like each other at work but also in our private lives, too. There's this amazing shorthand with us, and I’d say that is definitely the case with me and (hosts) Ant and Dec, too."
As with previous series, we will see a guest judge grace the panel, this time in the form of KSI who stands in for some of the auditions.
Host Dec Donnelly said: "It's always interesting when somebody new joins the panel for the first time because you see it through their eyes again and that kind of freshness. So he brought that to it. He brought energy, enthusiasm and a really interesting viewpoint. He looked at whether acts would work online and go viral, so that was really interesting. He judged in a way that no judge has ever looked at the acts before."
Meanwhile, KSI seems to be keen to come back for more as he said: "I really enjoyed the experience, and I don't know if they want me back. I don't know if I made a good impression. But if I did, and they do want me back, you know, I'm fully down!"
