The second series of British talent competition programme ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

'' was broadcast on

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, from 12 April to 31 May 2008. Following the success of its first series, ITV commissioned the programme for additional episodes, with more venues used for auditions than in the previous series, and the number of semi-finalists, semi-final rounds, and finalists increased by production staff. Both the judges from the first series -

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of ''The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on t ...

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...

and

Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at '' The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the ...

- and

Ant & Dec Ant & Dec are a British television presenter, television presenting duo, consisting of Anthony McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Formed after their meeting as chil ...

returned to co-host the second series, along with

Stephen Mulhern Stephen Daniel Mulhern is an English television presenter, magician, and comedian. He began his television career on CITV, presenting the children's shows ''Finger Tips'' (2001–2004) and ''Tricky TV'' (2005–2010). Mulhern has presented vario ...

returning to front the second series of ''Britain's Got More Talent'' on

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. The second series was won by street dancer

George Sampson George William Sampson (born 29 June 1993) is an English street dancer, television presenter, singer, and actor. He won the second series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' on 31 May 2008 at the age of 14. He is an official ambassador of the United ...

and finishing in first place and dance duo

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finishing in second place. During its broadcast, the series proved to be a greater ratings success, averaging 10.2 million viewers. ITV was forced to defend the programme during its second series, after viewers criticised the involvement of a professional group in the contest.

Series overview

Following open auditions held the previous year, the Judge's Auditions took place early in 2008, within

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and

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. With the success of the previous series, the production team decided to expand the show's filming schedule to include more episodes. This led to the addition of two more episodes for auditions and two more live episodes for semi-finals, in turn leading to a direct increase in the number of semi-finalists that the judges could move beyond the auditions stage of the competition. Both the judges and the presenters who took part in the first series agreed to return for the second series, leading to no significant changes in the panel or hosts. Of the participants that took part, only forty made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals, with eight appearing in each one, and ten of these acts making it into the live final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series: : , , , * Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this series. * The latter value pertains to the age of the dog, as disclosed by its owner.

Semi-final summary

Buzzed out , Crystal Clear app clean

Judges' vote , : , ,

Semi-final 1 (26 May)

Semi-final 2 (27 May)

Semi-final 3 (28 May)

Semi-final 4 (29 May)

* Simon pressed Holden's buzzers during Vizage's performance.

Semi-final 5 (30 May)

Final (31 May)

: , * The results did not declare any other position than that of the winner, 2nd place, and 3rd place.

Ratings

Criticism

The second series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' faced criticism for the involvement of professional performers in the contest. Media outlets revealed evidence that the group Escala, who took in the contest in 2008, had previously been involved as guest performers for a wrap party on ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' in 2007. ITV refuted allegations that this was unfair conduct against other participants, by arguing that the programme's researchers applied the same process and treatment to everyone who auditioned, and that the contest was open to anyone regardless of their experience with the talent they chose to perform with.Scala Are Bunch Of Real Pros

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Britain's Got Talent (series 2) 2008 British television seasons Britain's Got Talent