The ninth series of the British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, from 11 April to 31 May 2015. The series saw the "Wildcard" format introduced in the sixth series being modified in this series to include a "Public Wildcard" – like the "Judges' Wildcard" any act eliminated in the semi-finals, primarily those that lost out in the Judges' vote, could be reinstated by the public, based on the one that received the most votes from them before the final. Although speculations and rumours began to emerge after the previous series ended, claiming that some of the judges would be leaving before the ninth series, these were later dismissed as being unfounded by ITV, on 16 January 2015.
The ninth series was won by dog tricks duo Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse, with magician Jamie Raven finishing in second place and Welsh choir Côr Glanaethwy third. During its broadcast, the series averaged around 9.9 million viewers. The ninth series saw the programme have to answer allegations of animal cruelty against a ventriloquist, while the producers caused controversy over the handling of O'Dwyer's performance in the final that Ofcom later ruled to have been misleading following complaints by viewers.
Series overview Following open auditions held the previous year between October and December, the Judges' auditions took place between January and February 2015, within Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham and London., Unlike previous years, where a guest judge had to stand-in for another, no issues occurred that caused a member of the judging panel to be absent. The auditions were held in a more standard manner for this year, though with the "Golden Buzzer" format remaining part of them since its introduction to the show in the previous series.
Of the participants that took part, forty-five made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals – of these acts, dance troupe Boyband, singer Calum Scott, choir Revelation Avenue, dance act Entity Allstars, and comedy singer Lorraine Bowen, each received a golden buzzer during their auditions – with nine appearing in each one. In a minor change to the show's "Wildcard act" format, the series saw the introduction of the "Public Wildcard". Like the "Judges' wildcard", if a semi-finalist was eliminated in their semi-final at the Judges' vote, they became eligible to be picked as a wildcard act by the public, who would vote on which one they would like to reinstate into the final once all the semi-finals had been aired, with their choice being the one to have received the most votes by the time the final was due to be aired. While the Public Wildcard was extreme martial artist Jesse-Jane McParland, who lost out in the tied Judges' vote in the final semi-final, the Judges' Wildcard for this series was dance troupe Boyband, who lost the Judges' vote in the fourth semi-final. As a result, it led to a total of twelve acts taking part in the series' final.
The below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:
Judges' Wildcard Finalist | Public Wildcard Finalist | Golden Buzzer Audition
ParticipantAge(s) GenrePerformance TypeSemi-finalResult Alison Jiear 50 Singing Singer 2 Andrew Fleming 51 Comedy Impressionist 1 Beat Brothers 19–23 Dance Tap Dance Group 5 Becky O'Brien 34 Singing Singer 1 Billy & Emily England 28 & 25 Danger Rollerskating Duo 1 Bonetics 17 Acrobatics / Dance Contortionist Dancer 2 Boyband 17–19 Dance Dance Group 4 Calum Scott 26 Singing Singer 5 Chloe Louise Crawford 27 Magic Illusionist 5 Côr Glanaethwy 7–65 Singing Choir 1 Third Place Danny Posthill 28 Comedy Impressionist 5 Dylan Byrd 17 Dance Hip Hop Dancer 3 Ella Shaw 18 Singing Singer 3 Emma Jones 23 Singing Opera Singer 5 Entity Allstars 10–15 Dance Street Dance Group 1 Gracie 11 Singing Singer 3 Groove Thing 7–11 Dance 80’s Dance Group 2 Henry Gallagher 12 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist 1 IMD Legion 9–17 Dance Street Dance Group 3 Isaac Waddington 15 Singing / Music Singer & Pianist 4 Jamie Raven 31 Magic Magician 3 Jeffrey Drayton 73 Magic Entertainer 4 Jesse-Jane McParland 9 Acrobatics Martial Artist 5 Jonathan Lutwyche 15 Dance Contemporary Dancer 5 Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse 49 & 7 Animals Dog Act 2 Lisa Sampson 35 Variety Hula Hoop Artist 4 Lorraine Bowen 53 Singing / Music Singer & Keyboardist 1 Luca Calò 23 Singing / Dance Singer & Dancer 2 Maia Gough 13 Singing Singer 4 Marc Métral 61 Comedy / Animals Ventriloquist & Dog Act 4 Michael Late 44 Magic Illusionist 2 Misstasia 22–24 Singing Girl Group 5 Mitch & Cally the Wonderdog 42 & 10 Animals Record Breaking Dog Act 1 Narinder Dhani 43 Music Comb Musician 3 OK Worldwide 19–28 Acrobatics Acrobatic Group 4 Old Men Grooving 40–60 Dance Dance Group 2 Peter Lambert 32 Variety Circus Performer 5 Revelation Avenue 20–30 Singing Gospel Choir 2 Ruby Red Performers 25–64 Dance Burlesque Dance Group 1 The Honeybuns 22–33 Singing Girl Group 2 The Kanneh-Masons 9–18 Music Classical Musicians 4 The Kingdom Tenors 21–31 Singing Vocal Harmony Group 3 The Neales 24–59 Singing Vocal Group 4 The Sakyi Five 10–20 Singing Boy Band 3 UDI 19-32 Dance Electronic Dance Group 3
Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this series. The age of the dogs used by Jules O'Dwyer, other than Matisse, and that of the dog used by Marc Metral, were not disclosed during their time on the programme. The latter value denotes the age of the dog, as disclosed by its owner.
Semi-finals summary Buzzed out | Judges' vote |
Semi-final 1 (25 May) Guest performance: Ricky Martin ("Mr. Put It Down")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageFinished Entity Allstars 1Street Dance Group12.8% 3rd (Won Judges' vote) Billy & Emily England 2Rollerskating Duo7.6% 7th – Eliminated Mitch & Cally the Wonderdog 3World Record Dog Act11.5% 5th – Eliminated Henry Gallagher 4 Singer & Guitarist17.5% 2nd (Lost Judges' vote) Côr Glanaethwy 5Choir21.9% 1st (Won Public vote) Ruby Red Performers 6Burlesque Dance Group2.5% 9th – Eliminated Andrew Fleming 7Impressionist2.5% 8th – Eliminated Becky O'Brien 8Singer11.4% 6th – Eliminated Lorraine Bowen 9 Singer & Keyboardist12.3% 4th – Eliminated
Semi-final 2 (26 May) Guest performance: Jack Pack ("Light My Fire")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageFinished Groove Thing 180’s Dance Troupe7.2% 4th – Eliminated Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse 2Dog Act29.3%1st (Won Public vote) Bonetics 3Contortionist Dancer6.2% 5th – Eliminated Revelation Avenue 4Gospel Choir16.3% 3rd (Judges' vote tied – Lost on Public vote) The HoneyBuns 5Girl Group5.3% 6th – Eliminated Michael Late 6Illusionist4.5% 7th – Eliminated Luca Calò 7Singer & Dancer1.4% 9th – Eliminated Alison Jiear 8Singer2.7% 8th – Eliminated Old Men Grooving 9Dance Group27.1% 2nd (Judges' vote tied – Won on Public vote)
Semi-final 3 (27 May) Guest performance: Alesha Dixon ("The Way We Are")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageFinished The Sakyi Five 1Boy Band8.0% 6th – Eliminated UDI 2Electronic Dance Group12.4% 2nd (Judges' vote tied – Won on Public vote) Dylan Byrd 3Hip Hop Dancer3.8% 8th – Eliminated Ella Shaw 4Singer7.4% 7th – Eliminated Gracie Wickens-Sweet 5Singer10.0% 5th – Eliminated IMD Legion 6Street Dance Group11.6% 3rd (Judges' vote tied – Lost on Public vote) Narinder Dhani 7 Comb Musician2.3% 9th – Eliminated The Kingdom Tenors 8Vocal Harmony Group10.8% 4th – Eliminated Jamie Raven 9Close Up Magician33.7% 1st (Won Public vote)
Semi-final 4 (28 May) Guest performance: Olly Murs ("Beautiful To Me")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageFinished Ok Worldwide 1Acrobatic Group1.3% 9th – Eliminated Lisa Sampson 2Hula Hoop Artist5.1% 7th – Eliminated The Kanneh-Masons 3 Classical Musicians12.1% 5th – Eliminated The Neales 4Vocal Group17.6% 2nd (Won Judges' vote) Maia Gough 5Singer8.0% 6th – Eliminated Jeffrey Drayton 6Entertainer3.1% 8th – Eliminated Marc Métral 7Ventriloquist & Dog Act16.6% 4th – Eliminated Isaac Waddington 8 Singer & Pianist18.6% 1st (Won Public vote) Boyband 9Dance Group17.6% 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Boyband were later sent through to the final as the judges' wildcard.
Semi-final 5 (29 May) Guest performance: Collabro ("I Won't Give Up")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageFinished Beat Brothers 1Tap Dance Group6.5% 6th – Eliminated Chloe Louise Crawford 2Magician2.5% 8th – Eliminated Peter Lambert 3 Circus Performer1.1% 9th – Eliminated Misstasia 4Girl Group4.3% 7th – Eliminated Jonathan Lutwyche 5Contemporary Dancer13.9% 4th – Eliminated Emma Jones 6Opera Singer11.5% 5th – Eliminated Danny Posthill 7Impressionist20.3% 2nd (Judges' vote tied – Won on Public vote) Jesse-Jane McParland 8Martial Artist14.3% 3rd (Judges' vote tied – Lost on Public vote) Calum Scott 9Singer25.6% 1st (Won Public vote)
Jesse-Jane McParland was later sent through to the final as the public's wildcard.
Public Wildcard Semi-Finalist Semi-Final Performance Type PercentageFinished Henry Gallagher1Singer & Guitarist19.2% 2nd Revelation Avenue2Gospel Choir19.0% 3rd IMD Legion3Street Dance Group9.7% 5th Boyband4Dance Group18.8% 4th Jesse Jane McParland5Martial Artist33.3% 1st
Final (31 May) Guest performances: Andrea Bocelli ("The Prayer") & The Cast Of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance
FinalistOrder Performance Type PercentageFinished Entity Allstars 1Street Dance Group1.7% 11th UDI 2Electronic Dance Group1.9% 10th The Neales 3Vocal Group3.6% 9th Boyband 4Dance Group1.5% 12th Jesse-Jane McParland 5 Martial Artist4.2% 8th Danny Posthill 6Impressionist5.3% 7th Calum Scott 7Singer8.2% 6th Côr Glanaethwy8Choir10.7%3rd Old Men Grooving 9Dance Group10.2% 4th Jamie Raven 10 Close Up Magician20.4% 2nd Isaac Waddington 11 Singer & Pianist9.7% 5th Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse 12Dog Act22.6% 1st
Ratings
Episode Date Total viewers (millions) Weekly rank Share (%) Auditions 1 11 April 11.25 1 43.2 Auditions 2 18 April 11.47 1 44.1 Auditions 3 25 April 11.87 1 46.3 Auditions 4 2 May 11.73 1 45.0 Auditions 5 9 May 11.64 1 45.1 Auditions 6 16 May 11.55 1 47.0 Auditions 7 23 May 9.35 1 35.2 Semi-final 1 25 May 10.18 3 37.8 Semi-final 1 results 7.74 15 28.7 Semi-final 2 26 May 9.34 10 36.8 Semi-final 2 results 7.60 16 31.1 Semi-final 3 27 May 9.48 6 38.8 Semi-final 3 results 8.09 13 31.7 Semi-final 4 28 May 9.26 11 37.2 Semi-final 4 results 7.87 12 34.5 Semi-final 5 29 May 9.51 8 39.2 Semi-final 5 results 7.91 14 32.1 Live final 31 May 12.75 1 46.6
Criticism & controversies Marc Métral ventriloquism act In April 2015, following the audition of Marc Métral, several animal rights groups raised complaints that his performance, involving the use of a dog, purported to portraying a form of animal cruelty on television. The routine he used involved his dog wearing a specially designed "ventriloquist mask" – a special device used by ventriloquists on human volunteers, in order to make them into special dummy character for their routines - and was conducted in a similar manner to that of a participant on the seventh series of America's Got Talent in 2012. Métral refuted the claims by stating that he cared deeply for the well-being of his dog, while Simon Cowell refuted the claims a month later, owing to his involvement in dog charities, defending the broadcast of the footage on Twitter by explaining that the audition was allowed to be shown because both himself and the production staff had involved the RSPCA to oversee the welfare of Métral's dog before, during, and after his performance.
Misleading dog act