Britain's Got Talent series 2 explained

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Host:Ant & Dec (ITV)
Stephen Mulhern (ITV2)
Judges:Piers Morgan
Amanda Holden
Simon Cowell
Winner:George Sampson
Runner Up:Signature
Network:ITV
ITV2 (BGMT)

The second series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, from 12 April to 31 May 2008. Following the success of its first series, ITV commissioned the programme for additional episodes, with more venues used for auditions than in the previous series, and the number of semi-finalists, semi-final rounds, and finalists increased by production staff. Both the judges from the first series – Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan – and Ant & Dec returned to co-host the second series, along with Stephen Mulhern returning to front the second series of Britain's Got More Talent on ITV2.

The second series was won by street dancer George Sampson,[1] with dance duo Signature finishing in second place and opera singer Andrew Johnston third. During its broadcast, the series proved to be a greater ratings success, averaging 10.2 million viewers.[2] ITV was forced to defend the programme during its second series, after viewers criticised the involvement of a professional group in the contest.

Series overview

Following open auditions held the previous year, the Judge's Auditions took place early in 2008, within London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Blackpool. With the success of the previous series, the production team decided to expand the show's filming schedule to include more episodes. This led to the addition of two more episodes for auditions and two more live episodes for semi-finals, in turn leading to a direct increase in the number of semi-finalists that the judges could move beyond the auditions stage of the competition. Both the judges and the presenters who took part in the first series agreed to return for the second series, leading to no significant changes in the panel or hosts.

Of the participants that took part, only forty made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals,[3] 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:

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ParticipantAge(s) GenreActSemi-FinalResult
Andrew Johnston13SingingBoy Soprano2
Andrew Muir24SingingSinger4
Anya Sparks42DanceDancer5
Bang On!34 & 27MusicPercussion Duo 2
Boogie Babes8–12DanceDance Group4
Boogie Wonderland12–21DanceDance Group1
Caburlesque22-26DanceDance Group5
Charlie Green10SingingSinger3
Charlie Wernham13ComedyStand Up Comedian4
Cheeky Monkeys8 & 9DanceJunior Dance Duo2
Craig Harper35Singing / Comedy Singing Impressionist5
Dean Wilson18SingingMusical Theatre Singer 1
Deans of Magic46 & 38MagicErotic Magic Duo 3
Diva Las Vegas20-48Singing / DanceSinger & Dance Group5
Escala23–26MusicString Quartet5
Faryl Smith12SingingSinger 4
Flava17–28DanceHip Hop Dance Group2
George Sampson14DanceDancer 3
Harlequin Stage School8–13DanceIrish Dance Group4
Hoop La La22, 23 & 24Variety Hula Hoop Trio 3
Iona Luvsandorj27AcrobaticsContortionist2
Irresistible21–23SingingSinging Trio 3
James Stone52SingingSinger4
Jeremy Lynch20VarietyFootball Freestyler4
Kate & Gin16 & 6 AnimalsDog Act 1
Kay & Harvey56 & 71Singing / Music Singer & Keyboardist 2
Madonna Decena32SingingSinger5
Mandy Ellen Dancers10–24DanceDance Group2
Mary Halford March6–9DanceDance Group3
Michael Machell57MusicKeyboardist 1
Nemesis 18–22 Dance Dance Group5
Per Diem24 & 23Singing / Music Singing & Guitarist Duo 5
Phil Blackmore34Danger Balancer & Juggler 1
Sauris Nandi64MagicMagician 2
Signature29 & 34DanceBhangra Dance Duo1
Sophie Mei20DanceBelly Dancer1
Strike22 & 19VarietyMartial Arts Duo3
Tracey Lee Collins44SingingDrag Singer 1
Urban Gypsies35–50DanceBelly Dance Group3
Vizage34 & 30Singing / Magic Singer & Quick Change Duo 4

Semi-final summary

Buzzed out | Judges' vote |

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Semi-final 1 (26 May)

Semi-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' VoteResult
Boogie Wonderland1
Kate & Gin2
Michael Machell3
Dean Wilson4
Sophie Mei5
Tracey Lee Collins6
Phil Blackmore7
Signature8

Semi-final 2 (27 May)

Semi-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' VoteResult
Mandy Ellen Dancers1
Iona Luvsandorj2
Cheeky Monkeys3
Kay & Harvey4
Bang On5
Flava6
Sauris Nandi7
Andrew Johnston8

Semi-final 3 (28 May)

Semi-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' VoteResult
Irresistible1
Strike2
Mary Halford March3
The Deans of Magic4
Charlie Green5
Urban Gypsies6
Hoop La La7
George Sampson8

Semi-final 4 (29 May)

Semi-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' VoteResult
James Stone1
Charlie Wernham2
Harlequin Stage School3
Andrew Muir4
The Boogie Babes5
Vizage6
Jeremy Lynch7
Faryl Smith8

Semi-final 5 (30 May)

Semi-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' VoteResult
Caburlesque1
Madonna Decena2
Anya Sparks3
Craig Harper4
Diva Las Vegas5
Nemesis6
Per Diem7
Escala8

Final (31 May)

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" class="unsortable Finalistdata-sort-type="number" style="width:1em;"OrderFinished
Cheeky Monkeys110th
Andrew Muir26th
Kate & Gin38th
Nemesis49th
Strike57th
Andrew Johnston63rd
George Sampson71st
Faryl Smith84th
Escala95th
Signature102nd

Ratings

See main article: article and List of Britain's Got Talent episodes.

EpisodeAir DateTotal Viewers
(millions)[4]
ITV 1
Weekly rank
Viewer Share
Auditions 112 April9.44637.0%[5]
Auditions 219 April10.96143.3%[6]
Auditions 326 April9.86341.3%[7]
Auditions 43 May9.12539.1%[8]
Auditions 510 May8.17637.9%[9]
Auditions 617 May9.11237.5%[10]
Auditions 724 May8.27537.2%[11]
Semi-final 126 May11.33442.0%[12]
Semi-final 227 May9.29935.3%[13]
Semi-final 328 May10.03635.9%[14]
Semi-final 429 May10.13541.9%[15]
Semi-final 530 May11.86250.0%[16]
Live final31 May11.52351.1%[17]
Live final results13.88155.1%

Criticism

The second series of Britain's Got Talent faced criticism for the involvement of professional performers in the contest. Media outlets revealed evidence that the group Escala, who took part in the contest in 2008, had previously been involved as guest performers for a wrap party on The X Factor in 2007. ITV refuted allegations that this was unfair conduct against other participants, by arguing that the programme's researchers applied the same process and treatment to everyone who auditioned, and that the contest was open to anyone regardless of their experience with the talent they chose to perform with.[18]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Breakdancer wins TV talent contest. 31 May 2008. The Press Association. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080602162839/http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jLv-DLR9hI1D8PZ60oapDmgOpAIQ. 2 June 2008.
  2. Web site: Reality TV hurts too much – WalesOnline . Icwales.icnetwork.co.uk . 31 May 2008.
  3. http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/showbiz/showbiznews/2008/05/25/the-fab-40-in-the-britain-s-got-talent-final-98487-20428464/ Top 40 Acts
  4. Web site: Weekly Top 30 Programmes. Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. 6 May 2018.
  5. News: Britain's Got Talent back with 8.8m . The Guardian. London . Stephen . Brook . 14 April 2008 . 27 April 2010.
  6. News: Ratings soar for Britain's Got Talent . The Guardian. London . Stephen . Brook . 21 April 2008 . 27 April 2010.
  7. Web site: Reevell . Philip . International formats bolster ITV weekend . Broadcastnow.co.uk . 30 April 2008.
  8. News: Talent shines but viewers head outdoors . The Guardian. London . Leigh . Holmwood . 6 May 2008 . 27 April 2010.
  9. News: Talent sizzles as heat hits ratings . The Guardian. London . Leigh . Holmwood . 12 May 2008 . 27 April 2010.
  10. News: FA Cup final scores a ratings victory . The Guardian. London . Caitlin . Fitzsimmons . 19 May 2008 . 27 April 2010.
  11. News: TV ratings: 7.1m UK viewers tune in to Eurovision . The Guardian. London . Caitlin . Fitzsimmons . 27 May 2008 . 27 April 2010.
  12. News: TV ratings: Britain's Got Talent dances off with honours . The Guardian. London . Leigh . Holmwood . 27 May 2008 . 27 April 2010.
  13. Web site: Rogers . Jon . ITV1 delivers masterclass to The Apprentice . Broadcastnow.co.uk . 28 May 2008.
  14. Web site: Rogers . Jon . 2.8m get the Mary Whitehouse experience . Broadcastnow.co.uk . 29 May 2008.
  15. Web site: Rogers . Jon . Thursday peaktime blues for BBC1 . Broadcastnow.co.uk . 30 May 2008.
  16. News: TV ratings: Britain's Got Talent semi-final shines for ITV . The Guardian. London . Ben . Dowell . 2 June 2008 . 27 April 2010.
  17. Web site: Britain's Got Talent wins ratings war – Showbiz – News – Manchester Evening News . Manchestereveningnews.co.uk . 18 April 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080821214230/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/showbiz/s/1052093_britains_got_talent_wins_ratings_war . 21 August 2008 .
  18. http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/sunday/2008/04/13/britain-s-got-talent-scala-are-bunch-of-real-pros-98487-20380925/ Scala Are Bunch Of Real Pros