The fourteenth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, but in two parts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom during that year which affected production on the programme. The first half consisted of audition episodes that had already been filmed, which were aired between 11 April to 30 May 2020. The second half consisted of the remaining episodes when production could resume, and were aired between 30 August to 10 October 2020. The series was notable for Simon Cowell's absence from the semi-finals and final after he sustained an injury following an accident in August, forcing him to be replaced by Ashley Banjo. He still appeared in the audition episodes as they had been filmed and aired before his injury. Before Cowell's injury, it was intended for him to be virtually present for the semi-finals because of travel restrictions and his commitments to America's Got Talent.
The semi-finals and the final incorporated a number of safety measures, including the use of a virtual audience and physical distancing amongst hosts, judges, participants, and staff, with all episodes being aired weekly - a first in the programme's history. In addition, semi-finals were pre-recorded, changing the voting format as a result, including the results of public votes being announced in the final. Following the previous series, the programme's sister show, Britain's Got More Talent, was effectively cancelled and was replaced by a new online spin-off, titled Britain's Got Talent: Unseen, featuring auditions not aired in the main programme. The spin-off didn't return the following series for unknown reasons.
The fourteenth series was won by comedic pianist and singer Jon Courtenay, becoming the first golden buzzer act to do so, with sign-language choir Sign Along With Us finishing in second place and comedian Steve Royle third. During its broadcast, the series averaged around 8.17 million viewers, despite the split in the broadcast schedule.
Series overview
The judges auditions took place between January and February 2020, within London and Manchester. Prior to the start of production, staff had begun contemplating the future of its sister show, Britain's Got More Talent, in regards to its viewing figures and changes in viewing habits by its audience following the conclusion of the previous series. In October 2019, the decision was made to cancel the programme, and by 2020 it was decided that notable, yet unaired auditions for the fourteenth series would be made available via a new online spin-off titled Britain's Got Talent: Unseen.
Production on the series was dramatically impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, which was already affecting media productions across the world. While audition episodes had been pre-recorded and thus were aired as planned, British government measures implemented to prevent the spread of the infection effectively halted work on all live television productions. ITV was forced to split the series into two parts, and went into discussion with the production company over how to produce and air the second half of the competition within a safe working environment and ongoing monitoring of the pandemic. In May 2020, Amanda Holden indicated that production on the remainder of the series would resume in Autumn, with producers confirming in August that the remaining episodes would be produced and aired across September and October that year.
The broadcast schedule for the remaining episodes was revised, switching from being aired over the course of a single week, to a weekly arrangement, with only the final being aired live - the rest would be pre-recorded before their broadcast date. The format for these episodes was also drastically changed to provide a safe environment for staff, judges, hosts and participants: each round would be confined to a closed set; the judges would each have a separate judging desk; and a virtual audience would be present for each performance, in a similar arrangement used for the fifteenth season of America's Got Talent. Staff also arranged for large-scale performances to be altered in order to avoid mass gatherings; some had their routines pre-recorded in advance. The advancement of semi-finalists to the final stage of the contest was also changed. Instead of the original format used in previous series, judges would have first vote, choosing their top three acts in each semi-final and voting on which one of these would be sent to the finals, with the remainder from that semi-final, including those not voted for by the judges, facing a public vote to secure an additional place in the live final over the weekend of the episode's broadcast. The results of all five public votes would then be unveiled at the beginning of the live final.
One complication arose in August, when Simon Cowell became involved in an accident that left him suffering a back injury, and which required him to undergo surgery. Because doctors had advised him to not be involved in further television work until he recovered - his accident had already impacted his involvement in the live rounds for America's Got Talent that year - producers decided on bringing in street dancer and former BGT winner Ashley Banjo to act as a guest judge in place of Cowell during his absence. In addition, Holden was promoted to head judge for the semi-finals, effectively allowing her to make the casting decision in the event of a tied vote between the judges' top three semi-finalists.
Of the participants that took part, only forty made it into the five semi-finals - of these acts, singer Fayth Ifil, singing duet Honey & Sammy, comic singer & pianist Jon Courtenay, stand-up comedian Nabil Abdulrashid, and sign language choir Sign Along with Us, each received a golden buzzer during their auditions - with eight appearing in each one, and ten of these acts making it into the live final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:
| Golden Buzzer Audition
Participant Age(s) GenrePerformance TypeSemi-finalResult Aaron & Jasmine 28 & 32 Dance Latin Dance Duo 2 Aidan McCann 11 Magic Close Up Magician 5 Allan Finnegan 52 Comedy Stand Up Comedian 2 Amanda & Miracle 49 & 7 Animals / Magic Magician & Dog Handler 2 Belinda Davids 43 Singing Singer 4 Beth Porch 25 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist 5 Bhim Niroula 54 Singing Singer 3 Billy & Chantelle 14 & 12 Dance Contemporary Dance Duo 4 Chineke! Junior Orchestra 11–22 Music Orchestra 4 Class Dynamix 9–11 Singing Choir 2 Crissy Lee 77 Music Drummer 5 Damien O'Brien 34 Magic Close Up Magician 2 Dario the Dinosaur 37 Singing / Music Singer & Keyboardist 3 Ember Trio 26–31 Music String Trio 3 Fayth Ifil 13 Singing Singer 1 Håkan Berg 43 Animals / Magic Bird Magician 5 Honey & Sammy 15 & 43 Singing Singing Duo 2 Imen Siar 21 Singing Singer 1 James & Dylan Piper 38 & 12 Magic Magic Duo 1 James Stott 35 Danger / Magic Stunt Magician 1 Jasper Cherry 14 Magic Close Up Magician 4 Jon Courtenay 46 Comedy / Singing / Music Comic Singer & Pianist 4 Katherine & Joe O’Malley 36 & 59 Singing / Dance Singer & Tap Dancer 4 Kevin Quantum 39 Danger / Magic Stunt Magician 4 Magical Bones 37 Magic Magician 3 Myra Dubois 32 Comedy Drag Comedian 3 Nabil Abdulrashid 34 Comedy Stand Up Comedian 5 Papi Flex 26 Acrobatics Contortionist 4 Shalom Chorale 17–40 Singing Gospel Choir 5 Sign Along with Us 4–58 Singing Choir 3 Sirine Jahangir 15 Singing / Music Singer & Pianist 3 SOS from the Kids 4–16 Singing Choir 1 Souparnika Nair 10 Singing Singer 2 Steve Royle 51 Comedy / Variety Comic Juggler 1 The Coven 10–19 Dance Contemporary Dance Group 2 The Soldiers of Swing 31 & 41 Singing Singing Duo 5 Urban Turtles 26–28 Dance Dance Group 1 Wesley Williams 22 Danger Unicyclist 5 X1X Crew 13–28 Acrobatic / Dance Acrobatic Dance Group 3 Yakub 11 Dance Dancer 1
Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this series. Actual information the performer behind this act was not disclosed during their time on the programme. Locations for members of this group were not disclosed during their time on the programme.
Semi-finals summary Buzzed out | Judges' vote | |
Semi-final 1 (5 September) Guest Performers: Diversity
Semi-Finalist OrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and judges' votesPercentageFinished Urban Turtles 1Dance Group2.5% 7th - Eliminated James & Dylan Piper 2Magic Duo 41.8% 1st - Advanced (Won Public Vote) Imen Siar 3Singer 3.7% 6th - Eliminated Yakub 4Contemporary Dancer 22.7% 2nd - Eliminated James Stott 5Stunt Magician10.0% 4th - Eliminated SOS from the Kids 6Choir6.1% 5th - Eliminated Fayth Ifil 7Singer13.2% 3rd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) Steve Royle 8Comic Juggler N/A
Holden did not cast her vote due to the majority support for Steve Royle from the other judges, but admitted that her voting intention would have been for this semi-finalist.
Semi-final 2 (12 September) Guest Performers: McFly & The NHS Choir ("Happiness")
Semi-Finalist OrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and judges' votesPercentageFinished Souparnika Nair 1Musical Theatre Singer19.7% 3rd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) Damien O'Brien 2Close Up Magician22.1% 1st - Advanced (Won Public Vote) Class Dynamix 3Choir5.0% 6th - Eliminated Allan Finnegan 4Stand Up Comedian 4.2% 7th - Eliminated Amanda & Miracle 5Magician & Dog Handler 18.5% 4th - Eliminated Aaron & Jasmine 6Latin Dance Duo N/A Honey & Sammy 7Singing Duo10.4% 5th - Eliminated The Coven 8Contemporary Dance Group 20.1% 2nd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote)
Due to a tied Judges' Vote, Holden cast the deciding vote for Aaron & Jasmine.
Semi-final 3 (19 September) Guest Performers: James Arthur & Sigala ("Lasting Lover") Semi-Finalist OrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and judges' votesPercentageFinished Myra Dubois 1Drag Comedian6.9% 5th - Eliminated Magical Bones 2Magician N/A Ember Trio 3String Trio 8.9% 4th - Eliminated Sign Along with Us 4Choir34.0% 1st - Advanced (Won Public Vote) Dario the Dinosaur 5Singer & Keyboardist2.0% 6th - Eliminated Sirine Jahangir 6Singer & Pianist31.8% 2nd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) X1X Crew 7Acrobatic Dance Group 14.5% 3rd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) Bhim Niroula 8Singer1.9% 7th - Eliminated
Holden did not cast her vote due to the majority support for Magical Bones from the other judges, but admitted that her voting intention would have been for Sirine Jahangir.
Semi-final 4 (26 September) Guest Performers: Michael Ball & the London cast of Hairspray ("Good Morning Baltimore"/"You Can't Stop the Beat") Semi-Finalist OrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and judges' votesPercentageFinished Billy & Chantelle 1Contemporary Dance Duo 7.5% 4th - Eliminated Chineke! Junior Orchestra 2Orchestra 8.5% 3rd - Eliminated Katherine & Joe O’Malley 3Singer & Tap Dancer3.4% 7th - Eliminated Kevin Quantum 4Stunt Magician5.3% 5th - Eliminated Jon Courtenay 5Comic Singer & Pianist N/A Jasper Cherry 6Close Up Magician49.2% 1st - Advanced (Won Public Vote) Papi Flex 7Contortionist4.9% 6th - Eliminated Belinda Davids 8Singer21.2% 2nd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote)
Semi-final 5 (3 October) Guest Performers: Colin Thackery & The Kingdom Choir ("What the World Needs Now Is Love") and Amanda Holden ("Not While I'm Around") Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and judges' votesPercentageFinished The Soldiers of Swing 1Singing Duo9.0% 5th - Eliminated Håkan Berg 2Bird Magician14.2% 4th - Eliminated Shalom Chorale 3Gospel Choir6.3% 6th - Eliminated Wesley Williams 4Unicyclist16.1% 3rd - Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) Crissy Lee 5Drummer 2.6% 7th - Eliminated Nabil Abdulrashid 6Stand Up ComedianN/A Aidan McCann 7Close Up Magician27.0% 1st - Advanced (Won Public Vote) Beth Porch 8Singer & Guitarist 24.8% 2nd - Eliminated