Britain's Got Talent is set to make a welcome return to our TV screens with a brand new series featuring the biggest and best talents from across the UK. Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Bruno Tonioli will return to the judges panel as they search for their next winner.
The 2024 series of BGT will launch on Saturday, 20 April on ITV, with Ant and Dec on hosting duties. There's no doubt there will be some jaw-dropping performances, along with some tear-jerking acts.
It's almost definite that the judges will be reduced to tears on the show, as every year at least one contestant manages to provoke emotion with their performance. Ahead of the new series, here we take a look back at some of the most emotional BGT performances...
Sisters surprise dad on stage
One audition in series 15 really got the judges, along with host Declan Donnelly, feeling emotional. Sisters Cali and Savannah arrived on stage with their grandmother Tracey, but revealed they weren't there to perform themselves - they'd signed their dad, Nick, up for BGT but he was unaware.
Tracey explained: "Well, Nick doesn’t know anything about it, and we’re surprising him because we want him to come and sing, because he sings a lovely song for the girls." Nick was then persuaded by Ant and Dec to join his family on stage, still unaware what was happening.
"He said he’d never do it, so we had to do it for him," Tracey explained. Nick was stunned as he arrived on stage, and explained how he’d lost his confidence in singing over the years.
Ahead of his performance, he said: "It’s a song I feel quite attached to, so I sing it around the house, so hopefully I’ll keep the nerves and the crying away whilst I sing."
He wowed all of the judges with his performance, with Amanda and Alesha becoming tearful. Backstage, Dec struggled to hold it together as Ant comforted him.
Police dog's audition
Back in 2019, Simon Cowell was moved to tears as PC Dave Wardell and his dog Finn took to the stage. The German shepherd performed a magic trick for the judges, as it was revealed the pup was once nearly stabbed to death while saving his owner's life.
A video documenting Finn's journey as a police dog was played during the audition, featuring photos of his injuries and journey to recovery. Simon struggled to contain his emotions and branded the dog "beautiful".
“If I had a golden buzzer left I would give it to you,” Simon said. “When I hear about animal cruelty, especially dogs, it upsets me. A dog will literally give up its life for you. Finn’s beautiful, I love him.”
Malakai Bayoh's singing
During last year's semi-final, Bruno Tonioli was overcome with emotion during Malakai Bayoh's stunning opera performance. The young boy wowed the audience with his incredible voice as he competed for a place in the final.
The audience and judges gave him a standing ovation. A teary-eyed Bruno told him: "You are a gift from God!"
13-year-old's magic tricks
Magician Cillian O'Connor had the judges in tears more than once in 2023. His incredible audition left Simon stunned with Amanda in tears as Cillian opened up about his experience with autism.
Simon told the youngster: “You are unbelievably talented. That absolutely freaked me out. There is something really incredible about you and I do believe in magic.”
Cillian's semi-final performance proved to be an emotional one too, as Alesha was left in "floods of tears" after he took to the stage. The judges were blown away by his magic tricks, which included him vanishing into confetti.
Alesha told him: "I was so impressed at your auditions, and I'm still impressed now. I was in floods of tears just watching you. You were incredible."
Proposal during audition
Unarguably one of the most tear-jerking moments in BGT history came in 2019, when Jacob Jones proposed to his girlfriend Faye during his audition. He sang You Are So Beautiful and dedicated the track to his partner.
Jacob then asked if his girlfriend could join him on stage, and he declared: “I love you literally more than anything and I’m so glad that you believe in me and you did this to me and I wanted to ask you something.
“Faye Compton, will you marry me?” Jacob continued as he got down on one knee.
She happily accepted as the audience cheered the newly-engaged couple. Amanda and Simon both welled up at the proposal, as did many audience members.
