The final of Britain’s Got Talent kicks off tonight – and a chance to win a place on the Royal Variety Performance bill, as well as £250,000.
A total of 10 finalists will take to the stage including golden buzzer winners – singer Matty Juniosa, dance group LMA, fire juggler Liqei Yang, poet Sonny Green and drone artists Celestial.
The winners of the public vote – dog act Anastasiia and Salsa, magician Fabian Fox, comedian Ted Hill, magician Rafferty Coope and The Hawkstone Farmers Choir make up the rest. Ahead of the live finale, those doing battle for the BGT crown opened up about what the win would mean for them.
10View 10 ImagesSonny Green shared what a potential BGT win would mean(Image: Tom Dymond)
10View 10 ImagesFabian Fox is also in the mix(Image: Dymond/TalkbackThames/Shutterstock)
Sonny Green
“Winning would completely change my life, but I’d still love to keep trading down the markets. Who knows, maybe there’s a TV show in that one day. I’d love to go on a UK theatre tour, release a proper poetry book, and see it in the shops – so I can take my mum in there and show her that her son has made it.
“If I win, I’d make sure I had a good time with my family and made memories we would never forget. Footie tickets are expensive these days so the money might come in handy. But in all seriousness, I’m doing this for my family.”
Fabian Fox
“My dream was to be on this stage; my dream is fulfilled already. If I were to win the show, it would mean the world to me. To perform for the King is something that money can not buy so that would be a very big moment in my life.
“I made a promise to myself that if I were to win, I would give 1/3 to charity – particularly a cancer hospital here in Austria that treats children. With the rest of the money, I would build my show and work on my illusions, making my future dream illusions reality”
Ted Hill
“I think the king will love my PowerPoint comedy and you’ll find out a little bit why in my final performance. Last week I was at a zoo and a six year old came up to me and said that he recognised me from Britain’s Got Talent and then he started saying he enjoyed my performance but he then got incredibly excited by a zebra and he couldn’t finish what he was saying.”
10View 10 ImagesTed Hill was thrilled to make it through to the final(Image: ITV)
10View 10 ImagesUnsurprisingly, this beautiful act stole our hearts(Image: Dymond/TalkbackThames/Shutterstock)
Anastasiia & Salsa
“If we win, the money would definitely be going on treats. She’ll be spoiled with them.
Once Salsa’s on the stage she’s the main star of the show. She loves attention and she loves to be among people. As for which judge is Salsa’s favourite, Maybe Alesha, she is always so nice and lovely with her comments. I think she really loves Salsa”
Celestial (John “JP” Partridge, Director of Celestial)
“If we win, we have ambitions to deliver our shows to more and more people, we’d love to use the money to open some doors and subsidise a tour around the UK to let lots of people see this first hand.
“As for the final, I can’t promise a drone Corgi, but I can promise you a drone dancing dog… and that’s all I can say. Things can always go wrong, and that is why there is so much pressure on what we do. Thankfully all has gone well up until now!
View 10 ImagesCelestial and Hawkstone were applauded for making it through(Image: Dymond/TalkbackThames/Shutterstock)
The Hawkstone Farmers Choir (Katryna Shell and Ben Brooke)
“We hope Jeremy Clarkson will be there at the Royal Variety Performance. Maybe that will be the impetus to get him to sing on stage – knowing the King will be watching…we just might have to ensure his microphone is muted.
“Jeremy doesn’t really get involved with the singing advice – we have our lovely choir master Elizabeth for that. That said, he is very good at coming up with lyrics. He’s very clever with his words.”
Sadeck Berabah & LMA (Gemma Grierson, Masters Student)
“We’re basically all one massive family, so if we were lucky enough to win, the first thing would just be celebrating it together properly. A big part of it would probably go towards doing something special as a group, like a holiday together, just to switch off and enjoy the moment after everything we’ve put into the experience.
“Sensibly, a lot of us would also use it to invest in our futures, things like travel to auditions, training etc. That side of it is really important because it helps turn this experience into something that really supports our next steps in the industry.”
10View 10 ImagesThey left viewers stunned(Image: Dymond/TalkbackThames/Shutterstock)
10View 10 ImagesMatty belted his way into the finals(Image: Dymond/TalkbackThames/Shutterstock)
Matty Juniosa
“I don’t think I can ever thank the show enough for what it has done for me and my family and even my country. We finally have a present day queer native Filipino international personality and performer, and my family has been reunited in the UK because of this opportunity. I also got to finally meet my niece in person whom I haven’t had the chance to see because she was born when I moved here.
“It would be insane to win the money and the chance at performing for the royal family. It would mean I get to invest in the career I want to build here in the UK, help out with getting my sister and niece through school, finally let my mom take it easy on her work and help out fellow Filipinos get the opportunities I had. And also, this would mean getting a nicer flat to live in, which has been such a struggle with the level of income new performers in the industry have!”
Liwei Yang
10View 10 ImagesLiwei Yang got us feeling the heat(Image: ITV)
10View 10 ImagesRafferty closes out this year’s finalists(Image: Dymond/TalkbackThames/Shutterstock)
“In Taiwan, I’ve become a representative of sorts: 23 million people back home are rooting for me, and many have found the courage to chase their own dreams after seeing my perseverance. I’ve been on many TV shows sharing my life story.
“While many international circuses have invited me to perform, I never really knew if my art would be truly seen or appreciated in other countries. I just hope that through the BGT stage, I can tell the world that if you hold onto your dreams, they will come true one day.”
Rafferty Coope
“There are so many incredible acts in this final, so it’s going to be an honour to share the stage with them. I’m seeing it as a massive celebration of talent, so I can’t wait, and hopefully, as a teenager, I’m wanting to represent all teenagers across the whole of the country. I’m wanting to do teenagers proud. I know that the King absolutely loves magic…It would be a huge honor to perform for all of the royal family.”
Article continues below
Britain’s Got Talent: Live Final airs on ITV1 on Saturday, May 30 at 7pm.