EVERY year Britain’s Got Talent brings fans a whole host of weird and wonderful acts.
After multiple rounds of auditions, one act is eventually crowned winner and they get to walk away with a HUGE prize.
What prize does the winner of Britain’s Got Talent get?
Over the years Britain’s Got Talent has crowned 17 winners.
The BGT champ gets to take home a whopping cash prize of £250,000.
The winner is also offered the chance to perform at the Royal Variety Performance.
Prior to these generous prizes, the first five winners of Britain’s Got Talent were given £100k, but Ashleigh and Pudsey benefitted from the most generous year scooping £500,000 in 2012.
Who won win BGT 2024?
Season 17 of Britain’s Got Talent kicked off on April 20, 2024,
Throughout the series, Sydnie Christmas was the frontrunner to win the new series.
She wowed the audience and the BGT judges with her rendition of Tomorrow from Annie during her first audition.
Judge Amanda Holden was so moved that she hit the Golden Buzzer for the talented singer.,
She then sailed through the semi-finals and won the viewers’ vote.
On June 2, 2024 Sydnie was crowned the winner of Britain’s Got Talent.
The singer performed Somewhere Over the Rainbow in the grand finale and is now the reigning BGT champ.
Who are the past BGT winners?
Paul Potts – 2007
The phone salesman-turned-singer won the first series of Britain’s Got Talent.
After releasing several albums, he was then the subject of a biopic called One Chance starring James Corden as Paul.
BGT is not about talent that hasn’t been seen elsewhere – it’s simply about talent.
Paul Potts
He has gone on to release six studio albums and is constantly touring.
Speaking about BGT, Paul told The Sun in June 2024: “Britain’s Got Talent is not about untrained or amateur talent.
“It’s not about talent that hasn’t been seen elsewhere – it’s simply about talent.”
George Sampson – 2008
George Sampson won the hearts of the nation as a street dancer.
After winning BGT he turned to acting and has appeared in Waterloo Road and Emmerdale.
George has also starred in shows in the West End, including the smash hit production of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
The dancer previously revealed how he’d had a £9,000 hair transplant procedure to get rid of a bald patch on his head.
The patch was caused by all the spinning he does on his head during break-dancing routines.
Diversity – 2009
Diversity won the third series of the show, beating Susan Boyle.
They’re arguably one of the most remembered and successful of past BGT winners.
They have continued to perform and have spin-off careers in reality and competitions shows.
Ashley Banjo in particular has remained in the spotlight, becoming a judge on Dancing On Ice.
In 2019, Diversity returned to the BGT stage for their powerful Black Lives Matters performance
Spelbound – 2010
The gymnastics troupe wowed Simon Cowell and the nation, beating Twist and Pulse to the title.
Their unbelievable final acrobatic performance secured them a slot at the 2010 Royal Variety Performance.
Spelbound went on to perform at the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony.
Since then, the troupe have disbanded.
Jai McDowell – 2011
Singer Jai McDowell was the winner of the 2011 series.
Despite being signed to Simon Cowell‘s record label, his success didn’t last long after his debut album didn’t perform well.
He was dropped, so he went on to support other artists on tour including Gareth Gates.
Ashleigh and Pudsey – 2012
In 2012 , Ashleigh won the hearts of the nation with her dog Pudsey.
After their big win the pair enjoyed a glittering showbiz career together both on the screen and stage.
They even starred in their own film called Pudsey The Dog: The Movie.
Sadly, the adorable pooch passed away in 2017 after battling “acute leukemia”.
We are absolutely devastated and in shock with how quick this has all happened, and our hearts are broken.
Ashley on Pudsey passing
Revealing the devastating news at the time, Ashleigh posted: “We, as a family, had to make the hardest decision yesterday to let Pudsey go to sleep.
“We are absolutely devastated and in shock with how quick this has all happened, and our hearts are broken.
“We would have done anything to keep him with us, even for a little longer, but he didn’t have any more time as acute leukemia made us take the heart breaking decision to end his pain.”
Ashleigh now performs with her new dog, Sully.
Attraction – 2013
Another memorable winner was Attraction.
The Hungarian shadow theatre group put on emotive performances throughout their time on BGT.
However, there was some controversy over a foreign act winning the show.
Afterwards they performed in Las Vegas and were used in adverts.
Collabro – 2014
Collabro are a classical music group, who now have three studio albums behind them.
However, Richard Hadfield decided to quit in 2016.
Speaking about his decision at the time, he said: “I decided it was time to leave the band to focus on my mental health and happiness.”
Jules O’Dwyer & Matisse – 2015
Another winning dog act was Jules O’Dwyer & Matisse.
However, the act hit controversy after their big win.
This was because a second dog was actually involved in the act as Matisse couldn’t do the heights required for their winning performance.
Ofcom went on rule that this “mislead the audience”.
Richard Jones – 2016
A magician finally won the show in 2016 after many came close in previous years.
Former army officer Richard Jones scooped the crown, after swapping being in the service to pursuing his love of magic.
His career change paid off as he was able to go on tour after BGT.
Richard even had a one-off TV show called Operation Magic.
Speaking to The Sun about how his life has changed after winning BGT, he said: “I’m a lot more confident.
“Being in the Royal Variety Performance in front of Charles and Camilla was really scary, but it made me trust in my abilities more.
“I also get to travel a lot, which is incredible.”
Tokio Myers – 2017
Tokio Myers wowed the audience and the judges with his incredible piano skills.
Since winning BGT he has worked on his own album plus performed on a charity record in aid of Grenfell Tower survivors.
Tokio has also been very honest about his traumatic past.
He revealed that he saw his headteacher get stabbed which made him want to focus solely on building a career in music.
Lost Voice Guy – 2018
Lost Voice Guy was the first comedic act to win the show and went onto gain an army of fans around the world.
The star lost his voice in childhood due to cerebral palsy.
However, this hasn’t stopped him and after winning BGT he also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and released his own book.
Colin Thackery – 2019
Another person who won over the hearts the nation was Colin Thackery.
The pensioner and war hero was crowned BGT’s 2019 champ when he sang the wartime classic We’ll Meet Again.
He went onto give his prize money away to the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, which is where his family lives.
On winning BGT Colin said: “I’m absolutely astonished. The backing I’ve had has been fantastic.”
On performing for the late Queen, he added: “That’s the job. That’s what I wanted.”
Jon Courtenay – 2020
The 2020 series of Britain’s Got Talent may have faced several interruptions due to the ongoing pandemic, but the show managed to see comedic pianist Jon Courtenay crowned the winner.
He received the Golden Buzzer from hosts Ant and Dec in his first audition.
Jon‘s final performance moved the judges to tears with a tribute to his late father, and he won the nation’s heart with his comical song about 2020.
Axel Blake – 2022
Comedian Axel Blake beat singer Tom Ball and ventriloquist Jamie Leto to be crowned winner
Axel, who was also Simon’s Golden Buzzer choice, couldn’t believe he’d scooped the £250K prize.
He won the show after delivering a stream of jokes during his incredible final performance which left the judges and the audience at home in tears of laughter
Viggo Venn – 2023
In 2023, it was comedian Viggo Venn who scooped the BGT crown.
The eccentric Norwegian became a judge favourite from the start thanks in part to his high-energy act and high-vis yellow jackets.
He was crowned Britain’s Got Talent 2023 winner ahead of Lilliana Clifton who came in second place, and Cillian O’ Connor placing third.
Viggo’s final performance saw him get judge Simon to wear a hi-vis jacket and he declared he had won over the head judge’s heart.
Britain's Got Talent Judges
The ITV talent show wouldn't be the same without the four charismatic judges who put the contestants through their paces.
Simon Cowell is the staple of Britain’s Got Talent and resumes his role as head judge. The mogul is one of the most iconic figures in music and is responsible for offsetting the careers of many performers around the world.
Amanda Holden has been a judge on Britain’s Got Talent since it first started in 2007. The sexy star is a firm fixture on the judging panel, which has helped her to become a household name.
Alesha Dixon is back to judge the new series of Britain’s Got Talent. The TV star joined the panel back in 2012 and quickly became a fan favourite.
Bruno Tonioli makes up the fab four. After leaving Strictly, he decided to move over to ITV and is the newest BGT judge after replacing David Walliams.