James Smith (Series 8) in the Semi-Finals.
The Semi-Finals are the third televised round of Britain's Got Talent, and the first round to be shown live, with the exception of Series 14 which had each of it's Semi-Finals pre-recorded a day before they aired.
The Semi-Finals typically take place over 5 consecutive days, with the exception of Series 14 which had it's Semi-Finals televised every Saturday on a weekly basis. The remaining acts are split into 5 groups, each group performing on a different night or a different week in the case of Series 14. The Semi-Finals are the first round in which the public can directly influence the outcome of the contest by voting for their favourite acts.
Traditionally, two acts advance from each Semi-Final - the first being the act with the most votes, and the second being the Judges' choice between the second and third most voted acts, with the exception of Series 14 wherein the Judges chose who should advance from a Top 3, before the public voted for a second act from each Semi-Final to advance. If the Judges fail to reach a majority, the second most voted act advances, in the exception of Series 14 in which head judge Amanda Holden had the casting vote in the event of a tie. There was an amendment to this rule in Series 11 in which the top two most voted acts automatically advanced through to the Final. The original format was brought back for the next series, however since then every act the Judges have chosen to advance to the Final has also been the second most-voted act however this trend was broken in Episode 1510 where Flintz & T4ylor placed 3rd in the public vote and won the judge’s vote over Amber & The Dancing Collies who placed 2nd that night.
As of Series 6, the Judges have been able to select a Wildcard at the end of the week - this is an act who did not initially qualify for the final but was decided by the Judges to have deserved a place. In Series 9 and Series 10 there were two Wildcards - one chosen by the Judges and one chosen by the Audience. In Series 14, there was no Wildcard for the first time since Series 5.
Semi-Finals by Series[]
| Series | Acts in the Semi-Final | Acts Buzzed | Acts in the Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | 10 | 6 |
| 2 | 40 | 13 | 10 |
| 3 | 40 | 18 | 10 |
| 4 | 40 | 8 | 10 |
| 5 | 41 | 9 | 10 |
| 6 | 45 | 7 | 11 |
| 7 | 45 | 10 | 11 |
| 8 | 45 | 5 | 11 |
| 9 | 45 | 4 | 12 |
| 10 | 45 | 5 | 12 |
| 11 | 40 | 3 | 11 |
| 12 | 40 | 4 | 11 |
| 13 | 40 | 3 | 11 |
| 14 | 40 | 3 | 10 |
| 15 | 40 | 7 | 11 |
| 16 | 40 | 3 | 11 |
| 17 | 40 | 4 | 11 |