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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Charlotte Tutton

BGT Golden Buzzer explained as 2023 acts include Musa Motha and Gamal John

Britain's Got Talent is back on ITV, with the live semi-finals finally here - meaning a new batch of Golden Buzzer acts.

Hosts Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly returned to the show, hosting the auditions and the live shows on this week.

Also back are judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon, while judge David Walliams did not appear after he left the role last year. Strictly Come Dancing favourite Bruno Tonioli has replaced him on the panel.

But one other thing that returned for the latest series is the Golden Buzzer - and this series it came with a twist. But who gets to press the buzzer, and what does it mean for the acts who are awarded one?

Britain's Got Talent 2023 is back (ITV)

What is a Golden Buzzer?

If an act is awarded the golden buzzer at the end of their audition, it grants them a place in one of the live semi-finals of the show.

This means they skip past the bootcamp stage of the competition, giving them a head start

The golden buzzer is pressed by a judge or host when they decide they want a particular audition to go straight through to the live shows.

There was a bit of a twist this year, as Simon Cowell revealed they had eight buzzers this series, while he didn't go into detail about what happened at the time.

He added that the audience got one for the first time ever as they changed the rules slightly.

Who gets a Golden Buzzer?

All four judges Bruno Tonioli, Alesha Dixon, Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden get to press the buzzer (ITV)

All four judges Bruno Tonioli, Alesha Dixon, Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden get to press the buzzer and secure an act.

Hosts Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly share a buzzer. As said above, Simon revealed that there would be more than five golden buzzers this series.

He mentioned that the audience had one as a one-off this time, but he didn't explain the other two. Viewers now know Simon and Bruno pressed it twice, whole all four judges pressed it on behalf of the audience.

Who are the Golden Buzzer acts so far?

Ghetto Kids are the first act to get a Golden Buzzer (ITV)

Bruno Tonioli was the first person to press the buzzer, and he chose dance group Ghetto Kids after their incredible performance. He had pressed the buzzer way before he should have, but it didn't phase the dancers and they continued to perform like pros.

During the second show, Simon Cowell became the second judge to press his golden buzzer, opting to chose young Malakai Bayoh, who impressed with a stunning operatic performance of Pie Jesu.

Malakai got Simon's second Golden Buzzer (ITV)

Simon couldn't help but give Malakai a place in the semi-finals after the incredible rendition, which had the judges - and the viewers at home - very emotional. His family watched on from the audience, also thrilled to see him rewarded with the Golden Buzzer.

The next judge to choose a golden buzzer act was Alesha Dixon, and she chose Chickenshed, an inclusive theatre company.

Chickenshed (Tom Dymond/Thames)

As they finished their performance, there was a standing ovation from all the judges before Alesha leaned over and pressed her golden buzzer, leaving the audience both at the Palladium and tuning in from home singing their praises.

As she handed out her Buzzer, everyone was emotional as she told the group: "I love every single thing you stand for. Inclusivity is so important. Everyone is represented and you do that in abundance.

"And you’re giving young people opportunities and platforms and I don’t know what else is more important than that."

Olivia got Amanda's Golden Buzzer (ITV)

Amanda Holden's Golden Buzzer went to a young girl called Olivia, who performed Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked! after being surprised by Amanda on a trip to the theatre.

She told the singer: "You were my golden moment, you were the golden moment. You were absolutely amazing, you nailed that."

Ant and Dec finally pushed their Golden Buzzer for a 'famous' music artist, MB14.

MB14 got Ant and Dec's Golden Buzzer (Dymond/Thames/REX/Shutterstock)

However, some fans branded it a fix as MB14 appeared on The Voice in France in 2016 after being asked by producers to go on the show. He ended up finishing in second place and signed a record deal with Polydor, which he later left.

He went on to compete in an All Stars version years later and also has thousands of monthly listeners on Spotify.

After all five were given out, Bruno pressed the buzzer for a second time and secured another act.

Gamal John (Dymond/Thames/REX/Shutterstock)

The moment left his co-stars shocked, but the audience had been chanting for someone to press the buzzer for singer Gamal John.

Bruno was scolded by his co-stars and Simon joked someone would "get fired" over it, before stating they had to honour the buzzer being pressed.

The following episode saw Simon do the same thing, as he handed an extra buzzer out to dance group Unity after their empowering performance.

Finally, the final auditions episode saw all four judges stand up and press the buzzer for amputee Musa Motha, following his incredible dance routine.

Britain's Got Talent airs on Saturdays on ITV1 and ITVX.

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