Eric Chien has been crowned the Ultimate Magician in a Britain's Got Talent special.
The ITV special aired this evening, with Stephen Mulhern standing in for missing hosts Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly, who were unable to film as they had tested positive for Covid. Three judges were back - Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and David Walliams - were all back, but Simon Cowell was noticeably absent with magician Penn standing in his place.
Tonight, 10 acts - Colin Cloud, Marc Spelmann, The Witch, Eric Chien, Kevin James, Tony, Magical Bones, Mandy Muden, Richard Jones and The Clairvoyants - appeared on the Britain's Got Talent stage for the ITV special.
"I am still shaking, it's incredible, wow," he said as The Witch hugged him. He said it was special to be able to perform after so long, as the pandemic had stopped him from being able to perform his routine.
Asked ahead of the special who impressed her most, Alesha had two names on her mind.
Alesha shared: "Well, obviously I have a soft spot for Richard Jones and Marc Spelmann. Richard Jones being one of the best winners, I think, we've ever had on Britain's Got Talent. I always feel super proud of the show when I see Richard because I think he's such a great representation for the show. He's such a good person. He always emotes, and takes it far beyond magic.
"His storytelling is really emotive and he draws you in on a personable level. Marc Spelmann does the same. I feel like we've been on a real journey with him. He had a real 360 moment. He performed on Britain's Got Talent twice, once as Marc Spelmann but once as X. We got to meet his daughter. We feel like we know his wife. You go on this journey with him."
She added: "And so, to see him come back and basically fuse X with Marc, it was just a lovely full circle moment. I just always feel so proud when I see Marc and Richard. I think they are wonderful. And again, Magical Bones as well."
Speaking about the acts prior to the special, David described them as "the crème de la crème".
"These were all really incredible acts. These were the crème de la crème, the best. The best people we'd ever had on the show, best people from around the world, so it wasn't like auditions. It was like a final. It was basically like a grand finale, but everyone was magicians. Everyone really deserved to be on that stage," he shared of the 10 stars.
