Britain's Got Talent

Britain’s Got Talent is a reality show competition that gives people a chance to show off their special abilities on television while competing to win a cash prize and a shot at a career in the entertainment industry.

Piers Morgan knows talent.

Britain’s Got Talent debuted on the UK’s ITV network on June 9, 2007. The show was originally slated for a 2005 debut, but the original host, comedian Paul O’Grady, was offered his own talk show on rival network Channel 4. After accepting the offer from Channel 4, O’Grady refused to continue with his work on the show after taping only one episode.

Simon Cowell -creator of both the X-Factor and the Pop Idol series of shows- worked with Syco TV to develop Britain’s Got Talent. The original judging team for the show was supposed to be Simon Cowell, David Hasselhof and Cheryl Crow, but eventually Hasselhof and Crow were replaced with Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden. Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly – also known as British comedy duo Ant and Dec – took over from O’Grady as hosts of the show.

The first round of the show involves auditions around the country. Much like the Idol franchise, the contestants audition before the entire judging panel, but unlike that show, there is a live audience present at the auditions as well. The judges can opt to try to stop an audition at any time during the performance by hitting a buzzer that causes a red "X" to appear in lights above the stage. If all three judges buzz the contestant, the performance stops right away. If they do not, the contestant gets to finish. After the performance, the contestants are given feedback and the decision is made as to whether they are going to move on to the next round. Two of three judges must approve a contestant to move on, except during season three at the Manchester auditions when all three judges had to give the thumbs up for a contestant to go through.

After the initial auditions, there are usually around 200 acts in contention for the prize. From that group, 40 acts are selected to move on the semi-finals.

At the semi-finals stage, the show is moved to Fountain Studios in London for the remainder of the show. The contestants are broken into several groups and perform again for the judges and live audience. From each group, the two acts that receive the most audience votes move on to the finals. During the semi-finals round of the show, the judges can still opt to buzz contestants and stop the performance, a difference from the format of America’s Got Talent.

After a pool of finalists is chosen, the group is whittled down further. Another public vote is held, with the number one choice winning a spot in the finals. The judges then decide whether the second or third place act should go head to head in the show finale. Those two acts then compete over two nights, and the winner is chosen by public vote.

The first season of the show was won by Paul Potts, a Carphone Warehouse employee with a talent for opera singing. His plain appearance made everyone assume his performance would not be up to par, and when he opened his mouth, he became a national sensation.

George Sampson, a street performer and dancer, won the second season.

Season three was won by a dance troupe called Diversity, but the ending was a surprise. One of the contestants, Susan Boyle, made international headlines for her frumpy appearance and outstanding voice. She seemed to be a surefire winner. Rumor has it that bookies made a killing on the results since so many people had put money on her to win.

A fourth season of Britain’s Got Talent premieres in 2010.

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