Gruffydd Wyn

Series Twelve of Britain's Got Talent, a British talent competition series, began broadcasting in the UK during 2018, from 14 April to 3 June on ITV. For this series, the live episodes were broadcast from Hammersmith Apollo, and presented by Declan Donnelly only; while Anthony McPartlin suspended his TV commitments on 19 March 2018, he still appeared in the audition episodes as these had already been filmed in January and February earlier that year. Compared to previous years, this series featured a higher number of participants for the judges to select semi-finalists from, not counting those who received the Golden Buzzer, and saw the return of the Judges' Vote to the show's format.

The twelfth series was won by stand-up comedian Lost Voice Guy, with comedy singer/pianist Robert White finishing in second place and reggae singer Donchez Dacres in third place. During its broadcast, the series averaged 8.34 million viewers.

Open auditions were held the previous year between October to December, before the Judges' auditions took place between January and February 2018, within the cities of Blackpool, London and Manchester. This series is notable for the absence of Anthony McPartlin in the live episodes, after he stepped down from his TV commitments in the aftermath of a traffic accident on 18 March 2018 that he was involved in. While McPartlin still appeared during audition episodes on both Britain's Got Talent and Britain's Got More Talent, as these had already been filmed prior to the start of the series' broadcast, his colleague Declan Donnelly chose to present the live episodes without him, in the wake of his colleague's decision.

This series saw a far higher number of participants making it through the first stage of auditions, than had been recorded in previous years - in addition to those receiving the Golden Buzzer, around 182 acts successfully reached the second stage. Following the eleventh series, the judges' vote was brought back for the semi-finals, after Cowell admitted in June 2017 that he disliked its removal from the show's format. Disruptions caused by bad weather resulted in the first live semi-final being taken off the air for a brief time, following the first performance, while a stage invader attempted to disrupt proceedings during the broadcast of the second live semi-final.

Of the participants that took part, only forty made it into the five live semi-finals - of these acts, reggae singer Donchez Dacres, opera singer Gruffydd Wyn Roberts, singer-guitarists duo Jack & Tim, singer Lifford Shillingford, and magician Marc Spelmann, each received a golden buzzer during their auditions - with eight appearing in each one, and eleven of these acts making it into the live final; the wildcard act chosen by the judges was B Positive Choir, after they lost out in the tied Judges' vote in the second semi-final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:

  Winner |   Runner-up |   Third place

  Finalist |   Semi-finalist (lost judges' vote) |   Semi-finalist (eliminated)

• ^1These acts originally auditioned under different names, before changing them for their Semi-Final appearances.
• ^2Location of specific/groups of members were not disclosed during auditions.

Semi-finals summary

Semi-final 1 (28 May)

• Guest performers:Diversity; Matilda the Musical ("Naughty"/"Revolting Children")

• ^3For health and safety reasons, Johnson's semi-final act required paramedics to be on standby in case complications arose if he surpassed his safety time-limit.

Semi-final 2 (29 May)

• Guest performer: Alfie Boe ("The Way You Look Tonight")

• ^4B Positive Choir were later sent through to the final as the judges' wildcard.

Semi-final 3 (30 May)

• Guest performer: Rita Ora ("Girls")

Semi-final 4 (31 May)

• Guest performer: Chicago ("All I Care About"/"When You're Good to Mama"/"All That Jazz")

^5For health and safety reasons, stage-hands were required to have fire extinguishers on hand due to Williams' semi-final act involving the use of fire.

Semi-final 5 (1 June)

• Guest performer: Tokio Myers ("Children")

Final (3 June)

• Guest performers: Tina The Musical ("Nutbush City Limits"/"Proud Mary"); Magic Mike Live

  Winner |   Runner-up |   3rd place

Unfair Golden Buzzer

Following Alesha Dixon's use of her golden buzzer for Lifford Shillingford, some viewers complained on social media that she had a close connection to the singer, and that her decision to use the buzzer on him had been unfair. Amongst complaints, one viewer described the decision as a "fix", while others claimed she had used the buzzer to assist an "old mate". In response, both Dixon and Shillingford denied the allegations, saying that the comments made by the judge during Shillingford's audition had been taken out of context by viewers. As part of their response, they clarified that they were not close friends, but knew each other mutually through their musical work.

Unsuitable guest performance

Following the live final, several viewers went to social media to criticise the show for the guest performance by cast members from musical Magic Mike. Complaints made by viewers, including former Britiain's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan, ranged from the performers' routines being inappropriate for a family-based show, to the overall tone of the performance itself, and the "feminist double standard" it featured. In response, the broadcaster refuted the criticism, stating that the live final's content was suitable for young viewers and had met "compliance guidelines".