Series 19 of Britain's Got Talent officially kicks off tonight (Feb 21) at 7pm on ITV and ITVX. Fans of the show can expect all the usual mayhem – with dancers, magicians and a variety of entertainment acts all vying for a place on the Royal Variety Show and a hefty £250,000 prize.
The most notable change to BGT this year, however, is the introduction of YouTuber and musician KSI as a permanent judge, taking over from Bruno Tonioli. He'll be joining returning veterans Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, and Alesha Dixon on the judging panel. TV personality Stacey Solomon also briefly stepped in as a guest judge to cover for Simon Cowell during the initial filming sessions in Blackpool.
A significant part of the new BGT series was filmed at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, where judges said the atmosphere was particularly "wild" this year.
Much-loved presenting duo Ant and Dec are also back to host the show and manage proceedings backstage throughout auditions.
Whilst some viewers are delighted the show has returned, many others suggest the programme has 'run its course'.
Viewing figures for the previous series of BGT saw a noticeable decline compared to earlier years, continuing a downward trend for live terrestrial broadcasting.
Approximately 4.1 million viewers tuned in to watch magician Harry Moulding secure the crown in the 2025 series. This represented the lowest-viewed finale since the programme's 2007 launch, though this figure reflects only overnight TV ratings and excludes ITVX streaming or catch-up services.
The 2025 series also commenced with roughly 5.5 million viewers, signalling a decline of around one million from the 2022 opener.
Historically, the programme has drawn an average audience of between 6 to 10 million per series, but the emergence of streaming platforms in recent years has resulted in a more fragmented live viewership.
Some viewers believe they've identified the reason behind the falling numbers, as one person shared their perspective on a Reddit thread.
One viewer passionately declared: "I swear that the show is fast declining, overloaded with sob stories and silly slow-mo frames in the last, even if it became less frequent, the show itself hasn't seemed to have recovered.
"This season the golden buzzer during the live show seems a ridiculous idea, crowds screaming for gold through each act, many predictable acts as well. Same old sounding singers, choirs and magicians.
"Simon as a judge just isn't cutting it anymore, give him anything daft and he'll cheer and clap. The old Simon would never do this. It's not a good look. Even KSI is making Simon appear weak at times."
They added: "BGT used to maintain high standards whilst still managing to be amusingly stupid when necessary, now it's just filled with silly or stupid acts with inflated egos thinking they're actually decent and the judges concur whilst the majority of people commenting on the shows feel otherwise.
"I do watch other European talent editions and whilst many acts in live shows are nowhere near as good, they're consistently slowly improving at least. BGT, on the other hand, deserves so much better as a show."
Numerous others weighed in to suggest that the programme has 'had its day', with some even admitting shock that it hadn't been cancelled already.
One viewer remarked: "It was over about 10 years ago, I can't believe it's still on and people still watch it, it's like Walking Dead S11 now."
Another contributed: "I haven't heard it mentioned for years. I assumed it had stopped."
A third agreed: "I didn't even know it was still on TV."
Offering their perspective, another person stated: "Last year's BGT is noticeably worse, especially the awful decision to have golden buzzers in the semi-finals, and to drag the air time of the show out for so long on both the auditions and semi-finals.
"Frankly I think ITV are getting desperate for stuff to fill primetime slots with so if they have a well-established show like BGT, they milk it for all its worth until it stops being fun."
