Britain's Got Talent series 16

The sixteenth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, from 15 April to 4 June 2023. Following the previous series, David Walliams resigned from the programme in the wake of criticism to comments he had made of contestants during the 2020 series,^[1][2] leading to him being replaced by Bruno Tonioli in January 2023.^[3][4][5] During auditions, Cowell allowed a change to the Golden Buzzer format, granting more being given than in previous series.

The sixteenth series was won by comedian Viggo Venn, with dancer Lillianna Clifton finishing in second place, and magician Cillian O’Connor placing third. During its broadcast, the series averaged 5.98 million viewers.

Following the conclusion of the previous series, ITV announced that the show would return for a sixteenth series.^[6][7] However, David Walliams was facing an uncertain future with the programme after ten series,^[8] after it emerged he was facing criticism for comments he had made of contestants that had been poorly received by viewers; Walliams later resigned when it became clear the criticism couldn't be ignored.^[1] Because of his departure, ITV worked to find a replacement, and signed on former Strictly Come Dancing and current Dancing with the Stars judge Bruno Tonioli in January 2023 to join with Cowell and the other judges.^[3][9][10]

Cowell also announced that month of a change in format, revealing that he had given the audience the right to call for a Golden Buzzer for a contestant they felt deserved it, noting that there had been no set rules regarding the buzzer format since it was first introduced.^[11] Tonioli also gave an extra Golden Buzzer himself, but by accident after doing so halfway through a contestant's act; something which had never been done before within the Got Talent franchise itself.^[12]

Judges and Presenter(s) for Britain's Got Talent Series 16

Bruno Tonioli

Alesha Dixon

Amanda Holden

Simon Cowell

Ant & Dec

Color key:

  Winner |   Runner-up |   Third Place |   Semi-finalist

Judges' Wildcard Finalist | Golden Buzzer Audition

Participant	Age(s)	Genre	Act	Semi-final	Finished
Abi Carter-Simpson	30	Singing / Music	Singer & Ukulelist	1	Eliminated
Amy Lou	34	Singing	Singer	1	Finalist
Andrew Stanton	42	Danger	Sword Swallower	2	Eliminated
Boycanto	6–12	Singing	Vocal Group	4	Eliminated
Cammy Barnes	32	Singing / Music	Singer & Guitarist	5	Eliminated
Cillian O'Connor	13	Magic	Close Up Magician	5	Third place
Chickenshed	5–37	Singing	Vocal Group	4	Eliminated
Duo Odyssey	27 & 33	Acrobatics	Aerial Duo	4	Finalist
Dylan B	12	Singing	Singer	3	Eliminated
Enzo Weyne	33	Magic	Magician	1	Eliminated
Felix Clements	24	Dance	Contemporary Dancer	4	Eliminated
Gamal John	36	Singing	Singer	1	Eliminated
Ghetto Kids	5–13	Dance	Dance Group	3	Finalist
Harry Churchill	11	Music	Electric Guitarist	3	Eliminated
Ichikawa Koikuchi	42	Variety	Flatulist	1	Eliminated
Johns' Boys	14–73	Singing	Choir	2	Eliminated
Kimoon Do	31	Magic	Close Up Magician	4	Eliminated
Lewis Fuller	24	Singing / Magic	Singer & Magician	2	Eliminated
Lillianna Clifton	13	Dance	Contemporary Dancer	5	Runner-Up
Malakai Bayoh	13	Singing	Opera Singer	4	Finalist
Markus Birdman	52	Comedy	Stand Up Comedian	3	Eliminated
MB14	28	Music	Beatboxer	4	Eliminated
Miki Dark	57	Danger / Magic	Stunt Magician	3	Eliminated
Musa Motha	27	Dance	Contemporary Dancer	1	Finalist
Nathan & Joanne	24 & 28	Dance	Dance Duo	2	Eliminated
Noodle1	24	Singing	Singer	4	Eliminated
Notorious	8–16	Dance	Dance Group	3	Eliminated
Nurse Georgie Carroll	47	Comedy	Stan Up Comedian	5	Eliminated
Olivia Lynes	11	Singing	Musical Theatre Singer	2	Finalist
Parkour Collective	20–25	Acrobatics	Parkour Trio	1	Eliminated
Romeo & Icy	20 & 21	Dance	Dance Duo	5	Eliminated
The Pixiebelles	6–9	Singing	Theatre Group	5	Eliminated
Tia Connolly	15	Singing	Singer	2	Eliminated
Tonikaku	41	Variety	Novelty Act	5	Finalist
Toy Toy Toy	26 & 34	Variety	Yo-Yo Duo	3	Eliminated
Travis George	22	Singing	Opera Singer	3	Finalist
United 2 Dance	9–11	Dance	Ballroom Dance Group	1	Eliminated
Unity	16–25	Dance	Contemporary Dance Group	5	Eliminated
Viggo Venn	33	Comedy	Comedian	2	Winner
Yo Highness	10–26	Dance	Dance Group	2	Eliminated

^1 During the fourth semi-final, Noodle was revealed to be series 15 finalist Tom Ball. Ball's identity was kept a secret by production staff throughout the series - all details listed here pertain to his unveiling as the voice of Noodle in the semi-final.

Buzzed out | Judges' vote |   Won the Public's Vote |   Won the Judges' Vote

  Lost Judges' Vote |   Eliminated

Prior to the beginning of the live shows, the semi-finalists were decided following a deliberation stage at the London Palladium.

• Guest performance: Diversity

Semi-Finalist	Order	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished[13]
		Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Tonioli
United 2 Dance	1					6th – Eliminated
Gamal John	2					7th – Eliminated
Ichikawa Koikuchi	3					8th – Eliminated
Enzo Weyne	4					4th – Eliminated
Parkour Collective	5					5th – Eliminated
Abi Carter-Simpson	6					3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote)
Amy Lou	7					2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote)
Musa Motha	8					1st (Won Public Vote)

• Guest performance: The cast of We Will Rock You ("Don't Stop Me Now"/"We Will Rock You"/"We Are the Champions")

Semi-Finalist	Order	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished[13]
		Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Tonioli
Yo Highness	1					6th – Eliminated
Olivia Lynes	2					3rd (Won Judges' Vote)
Nathan & Joanne	3					4th – Eliminated
Lewis Fuller	4					5th – Eliminated
Tia Connolly	5					7th – Eliminated
Andrew Stanton	6					8th – Eliminated
Johns' Boys	7					2nd (Lost Judges' Vote)
Viggo Venn	8					1st (Won Public Vote)

Guest performance: James Arthur ("A Year Ago")

Semi-Finalist	Order	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished[13]
		Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Tonioli
Harry Churchill	1					3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote)
Miki Dark	2					7th – Eliminated
Travis George	3					2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote)
Notorious	4					4th – Eliminated
Markus Birdman	5					8th – Eliminated
Ghetto Kids	6					1st (Won Public Vote)
Toy Toy Toy	7					5th – Eliminated
Dylan B	8					6th – Eliminated

Guest performance: Axel Blake

Semi-Finalist	Order	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished[13]
		Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Tonioli
Noodle	1					5th – Eliminated
Chickenshed	2					6th – Eliminated
Kimoon Do	3					8th – Eliminated
MB14	4					3rd (Judges' Vote tied – Lost on Public Vote)
Boycanto	5					7th - Eliminated
Duo Odyssey	6					2nd (Judges' Vote tied – Won on Public Vote)
Felix Clements	7					4th – Eliminated
Malakai Bayoh	8					1st (Won Public Vote)

Guest performance: The cast of The Wizard of Oz ("We're Off to See the Wizard"/"Over the Rainbow"/"If I Only Had a Brain"/"The Merry Old Land of Oz")

Semi-Finalist	Order	Buzzes and judges' votes				Finished[13]
		Cowell	Holden	Dixon	Tonioli
Romeo & Icy	1					8th – Eliminated
Lillianna Clifton	2	2				3rd (Won Judges' Vote)
Nurse Georgie Carroll	3					6th – Eliminated
Cillian O'Connor	4					1st (Won Public Vote)
The Pixiebelles	5					7th – Eliminated
Cammy Barnes	6					5th – Eliminated
Unity	7					4th – Eliminated
Tonikaku	8					2nd (Lost Judges' Vote)3

^2 Due to the majority vote for Lillianna Clifton, Cowell's voting intention was not revealed.

^3 Tonikaku was later sent through to the final as the judges' wildcard.

Guest performance: Susan Boyle & the cast of Les Misérables ("I Dreamed a Dream"/"Finale")