Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, David Walliams and Alesha Dixon are back as the good, the bizarre and the downright dreadful brave the buzzers in the new series of Britain’s Got Talent.
In past years we’ve seen the show won by incredible gymnasts, awe-inspiring dance acts and two very talented dogs, so we can’t wait to see what they’ve got in store for us this time around.
As we meet a brand new batch of hopefuls, let us take you back over series past, as we unearth what some of the show’s most talked about contestants are up to now.
Jack Carroll, Series 7
In A Nutshell: Hilarious, and surprisingly touching, mini Jason Mamford
How Did They Do? Runner-up
Who Did They Lose To? Attraction
Where Are They Now? Jack is still performing stand-up in venues all over the country, and has released his autobiography which detailed his childhood, living with cerebral palsy and his rise to fame on BGT. He has also appeared in the Sky sitcom Trollied.
Lorraine Bowen, Series 9
In A Nutshell: Everybody’s good at cooking something, and she’s good at cooking crumble
How Did They Do? Semi-finalist
Who Did They Lose To? Jules and Matisse
Where Are They Now? She’s still performing at small venues, and in 2015 she made a bid for the Christmas number one spot with a festive version of The Crumble Song.
Richard and Adam, Series 7
In A Nutshell: A pair of Welsh brothers
How Did They Do? Finalists
Who Did They Lose To? Attraction
Where Are They Now? Since making it to the final they’ve released not one but two albums, which isn’t bad at all considering their performance in the final was rather upstaged by disgruntled violinist Natalie Holt, who was seen pelting the judging panel with eggs before quickly being escorted offstage by producers.
Gabz, Series 7
Who? Gabz
In A Nutshell: Onesie-wearing youngster hoping to be the next Alicia Keys
How Did They Do? Finalist
Who Did They Lose To? Attraction
Where Are They Now? After wowing the judges - and the general public - with her original composition The One, Gabz released it is a single on Simon Cowell’s label, where it peaked inside the UK top ten.
Calum Scott, Series 9
In A Nutshell: Rare potentially good pop star auditions for BGT over X Factor.
How Did They Do? Finalist
Where Are They Now? He released his own take on Robyn’s Dancing On My Own, after his audition became the most-watched video on YouTube of 2015 (excluding music videos).
George Sampson, Series 2
In A Nutshell: Shy schoolboy who surprised us all with his impressive dance skills
How Did They Do? Winner
Where Are They Now? George was just 14 when he wowed us with his Singing In The Rain breakdance performance, and his career has since gone from strength to strength. Although he found fame as a dancer, you’re more likely to see him acting these days, and has had TV roles in Mount Pleasant, Waterloo Road and Emmerdale.
Ashleigh and Pudsey, Series 6
How Did They Do? Winner
Where Are They Now? After becoming the first animal act to win BGT, Pudsey become an overnight household name, and even starred in his own film. Our favourite Ashleigh and Pudsey moment, though, was when they did a conga with Kim Kardashian on Alan Carr: Chatty Man. On 21 July 2017, Ashleigh announced that Pudsey had died. Following his death, she said that her other trained dog, Sully, would take over future events but would “never become Pudsey”
Attraction, Series 7
In A Nutshell: That trick you used to do with a torch when you were a kid, on a much grander scale
How Did They Do? Winner
Where Are They Now? They won Britain’s Got Talent in 2013 and since then have performed in venues all over the globe including in China, Las Vegas and, of course, for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance. Their crowning achievement will always be getting the ice-hearted Simon Cowell to actually shed a tear, and they didn’t even need to threaten Squiddly and/or Diddly.
Paul Potts, Series 1
In A Nutshell: He can bring a tear to your eye with his singing and fix your mobile at the same time
How Did They Do? Winner
Where Are They Now? Paul won the very first series of Britain’s Got Talent with his impressive operatic performance, and has since gone on to release albums, a memoir and even had a film made about his life, One Chance, which saw James Corden in the lead role.
Loveable Rogues, Series 6
In A Nutshell: Olly Murs x3 (with instruments)
How Did They Do? Finalists
Who Did They Lose To? Ashleigh and Pudsey
Where Are They Now? After coming fourth on BGT, Eddie Brett, Sonny Jay Muharrem and Te Qhairo Eugene were snapped up by Simon Cowell (surprise, surprise) and signed to his Syco label. Despite supporting Olly Murs on his UK tour, the group were dropped by Simon’s label in October 2013, and later split. Sonny went on to present the Capital Breakfast Show alongside Roman Kemp and Vick Hope.
Stavros Flatley, Series 3
In A Nutshell: Michael Flatley-inspired father (Demetri) and son (Lagi) comedy dance combo. Except Greek. With no dancing talent.
How Did They Do? Finalists
Who Did They Lose To? Diversity
Where Are They Now? Since the show, they have been performing all over the world including gigs in Cyprus, Greece, Australia and China, and continue to do so today. They also released a book, How to Be (A Little Bit) Greek in 2009, but Demetri ran into financial trouble in 2011 when his electrical firm went into administration.
Shaheen Jafargholi, Series 2
In A Nutshell: The original Ronan Parke
How Did They Do? Finalist
Who Did They Lose To? George Sampson
Where Are They Now? Shaheen’s love of Michael Jackson saw him invited to join him at his This Is It gigs in London. After Michael suddenly died before the tour, Shaheen performed a tribute to him at the 2009 Mobo Awards. A month later he flew to the US to appear on Oprah and the Jackson family invited him to sing at Michael’s globally televised funeral memorial service. After then signing a record deal, Shaheen plans for his album were shelved as he focussed on acting, scoring parts in EastEnders and Casualty.
Susan Boyle, Series 3
In A Nutshell: As if one sentence could possibly sum her up.
How Did They Do? Runner-up
Who Did They Lose To? Diversity
Where Are They Now? She might not have won series 3 of BGT but SuBo is by far the most successful act to have come out of the show. Her debut album I Dreamed A Dream was the fastest selling UK debut album of all time selling 411,820 in its first week and reached No.1 on both sides of the Atlantic. She has since released more albums and received two Grammy nominations. Despite being worth over £22 million, Susan still lives in a council house in Blackburn.
Twist and Pulse, Series 4
In A Nutshell: Body-popping street dance duo made up of cheeky chappy pals Ashley Glazebrook (Twist) and Glen Murphy (Pulse)
How Did They Do? Finalists
Who Did They Lose To? Spellbound
Where Are They Now? After finishing second in 2010, they released a single called Jump a year later with little success. The dancing duo then went on to support Jedward on their Irish tour before returning to the show in 2012 after setting up their own dance troupe, Twist and Pulse Dance Company, who reached the live semi finals. The lads then went up and down the country on the Olympic torch relay, performing every night at the torch stopovers. Last year saw them crowned winners of BGT: The Champions.
Scala, Series 2
In A Nutshell: String quartet. Definitely not fuddy-duddy.
How Did They Do? Finalists
Who Did They Lose To? George Sampson
Where Are They Now? After Simon Cowell snapped the girls up and signed them to his Syco label they released their Trevor Horn-produced eponymous debut album, which reached No.2 on the UK album chart. They’ve yet to release another longplayer but have a new member in the shape of Honor Watson (replacing original member Izzy Judd, who married McFly’s Harry) and continue to tour and play private events.
Jonathan and Charlotte, Series 6
In A Nutshell: Unlikely teen opera duo who did a ‘Susan Boyle’
How Did They Do? Runners Up
Who Did They Lose To? Ashleigh and Pudsey
Where Are They Now? After signing to Simon Cowell’s Syco label for £1 million, the duo released their debut album, Together, which went gold in the UK and reached No.5 on the UK album chart - the highest every entry by a classical album into the main album chart. Unfortunately it wasn’t to last, and in February 2014 they announced they were going their separate ways as solo artists. We were very emotional, it was like H & Claire all over again...
Flawless, Series 3
In A Nutshell: Street dance troupe who were definitely not like Diversity (ahem)
How Did They Do? Finalists
Who Did They Lose To? Diversity
Where Are They Now? The dance group may not have had what it took to beat champions Diversity in the 2009 final, but they didn’t do too badly afterwards. They appeared in the 2010 film StreetDance 3D and its 2012 sequel StreetDance 2, and also performed with Kylie Minogue outside Buckingham Palace at The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert.
Ronan Parke, Series 5
In A Nutshell: Cutie-pie singer who melted Amanda Holden’s heart
How Did They Do? Finalist
Who Did They Lose To? Jai McDowall
Where Are They Now? After a shock result which saw the firm favourite come second, Simon Cowell quickly signed Ronan in a joint deal with another label. However, his record deal was short lived after his debut album failed to set the charts alight. Now all grown up, Ronan’s YouTube channel continues to win over new fans.
Only Boys Aloud, Series 6
In A Nutshell: Welsh choir made up of (you guessed it) only boys
How Did They Do? Finalists
Who Did They Lose To? Ashleigh & Pudsey
Where Are They Now? Having already achieved minor success before BGT, the all male choir were signed to Sony following the show. They teamed up with fellow series six runner-ups Jonathan and Charlotte on The Prayer before releasing their own album in November 2012.
Isaac Waddington, Series 9
In A Nutshell: One adorable teen and his piano
How Did They Do? Finalist
Who Did They Lose To? Jules and Matisse
Where Are They Now? We’re currently waiting on his debut album, after Simon Cowell snapped him up to join his Syco record label.
Diversity, Series 3
In A Nutshell: Dance troupe with a difference who wowed the public with their innovative routines
BGT Series: 3
How Did They Do? Winner
Where Are They Now? Undeniably one of Britain’s Got Talent’s biggest success stories, Diversity did it all following their big win - they’ve sold out UK tours, appeared in the film StreetDance 3D and become household names as individuals too. Ashley Banjo is now a judge on Dancing On Ice while his brother Jordan has appeared on I’m A Celebrity and hosted The Greatest Dancer alongside Alesha Dixon.