Britain's Got Talent (series 8)
The eighth series of Britain's Got Talent, a British talent competition series, began broadcasting in the UK during 2014, from 12 April to 7 June on ITV; because of England's international friendly with Peru, the show took a break on 30 May to avoid clashing with live coverage of the match. The series is most notable for holding auditions in Northern Ireland for the first time, instead of Scotland as had been done since the second series, as well as for the hosts Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly having to stand in for Simon Cowell, after illness forced him to be absent during a day of auditions. It was also the first series in the show's history to have a buzzer used during the live final, and was the first to include the "Golden Buzzer" - a format introduced to the programme, which had begun to appear within the Got Talent franchise since it was first introduced on Germany's Got Talent in 2012.
The eighth series was won by boy band Collabro, with opera singer Lucy Kay finishing in second place, and singing/rapping duo Bars and Melody placing third. During its broadcast, the series averaged around 9.8 million viewers.
Series overview
Following open auditions held the previous year between 19 October to 1 December 2013 in various cities, which included auditions held at a series of "Talent Spot tents" provided by the show's sponsor that year, and at The Savoy Hotel in Blackpool and The Old Ship Hotel in Brighton, the Judges' auditions took place between January and February 2014, within Belfast, London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Cardiff. For the first time since the second series, auditions didn't take place in Scotland, as the show's producers wished to try new locations for talent, which led to them opting to hold auditions within Northern Ireland for the first time as a result. Due to illness, Simon Cowell was forced to be absent from a day of auditions in Manchester to recover, leading to hosts Ant & Dec each standing in for him, while on the final day of auditions in London, Cowell was forced to be absent for them to attend to his girlfriend Lauren Silverman, who had gone into labour that day; the show's production team chose not to bring in a stand-in because of this.By the time that the public auditions for the eighth series' competition had begun, the Got Talent franchise was beginning to update its format for auditions across international editions through the inclusion of a new feature - the "Golden Buzzer". First introduced on Germany's Got Talent, the new format meant that those auditioning for a place in the live rounds of the competition for this year could earn an automatic place in the live rounds from any of the judges or the hosts, regardless of the opinions about their performance. Although the judges and hosts had permission to use the buzzer, Stephen Mulhern was not allowed to use it, despite his involvement in overseeing auditions for Britain's Got More Talent.
Of the participants that took part, forty-five made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals- amongst these, salsa dancing duo Paddy & Nico, hip hop duo Bars & Melody, singer Christian Spridon, girl group REAformed, and stand-up comedian/impressionist Toju, each received a golden buzzer during their auditions - with nine appearing in each one, and eleven of these acts making it into the live final; the wildcard act chosen by the judges was impressionist Jon Clegg, after he lost out in the tied Judges' vote in the first semi-final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:
| Participant | Age | Genre | Act | Semi-final | Result |
| Allan Turner-Ward | 37 | Music | DJ | 4 | |
| Andrew Derbyshire | 31 | Singing | Singer | 5 | |
| Bailey McConnell | 15 | Singing | Singer | 5 | |
| Bars & Melody | 13, 15 | Singing | Rapper & Singer | 4 | ' |
| Bolddog FMX Team | 24–48 | Danger | Motorcycle Stunt Team | 2 | |
| Brian Chan | 25 | Variety | Painter | 3 | |
| Cartel | 16–27 | Dance | Dance Group | 3 | |
| Christian Spridon | 36 | Singing | Entertainer | 1 | |
| Collabro | 20–24 | Singing | Musical Theatre Group | 1 | ' |
| Country Vive | 16–35 | Dance | Country Dance Troupe | 1 | |
| Crazy Rouge | 21–26 | Dance | Burlesque Dance Troupe | 3 | |
| Darcy Oake | 26 | Magic | Illusionist | 1 | ' |
| Ed Drewett | 26 | Singing | Singer | 2 | |
| Ellis Chick | 12 | Singing | Singer | 3 | |
| Eva Iglesias | 40 | Singing | Singer | 4 | |
| Henrietta Adewole | 18 | Singing | Singer | 1 | |
| Innova Irish Dance Company | 14–23 | Dance | Irish Dance Troupe | 4 | |
| Jack Pack | 24–33 | Singing | Singing Group | 5 | ' |
| James Smith | 15 | Singing / Music | Singer & Guitarist | 2 | ' |
| Jenson Zhu | 37 | Comedy | Impressionist | 5 | |
| Jodi Bird | 16 | Singing | Musical Theatre Singer | 2 | |
| Jon Clegg | 43 | Comedy | Impressionist | 1 | ' |
| Kieran & Sarah | 26, 28 | Singing | Singing Duet | 4 | |
| Kieran Lai | 17 | Dance | Breakdancer | 5 | |
| Kings & Queens | 18–29 | Dance | Latin Dance Troupe | 5 | |
| Kitty & Rosie | 25, 48 | Singing | Singing Duet | 3 | |
| Kony Puppets | 32 | Comedy | Puppet Act | 2 | |
| La Voix & The London Gay Big Band | 26–52 | Music / Variety | Drag Act & Orchestral Band | 5 | |
| Lauren & Terrell | 12 | Dance | Dance Duo | 1 | |
| Lettice Rowbotham | 24 | Music | Violinist | 4 | ' |
| Light Balance | 19–33 | Dance | Electronic Dance Troupe | 4 | |
| Lucy Kay | 24 | Singing | Opera Singer | 3 | ' |
| Micky Dumoulin | 25 | Singing | Singer | 1 | |
| Mini Moves | 11–12 | Dance | Dance Troupe | 2 | |
| Paddy & Nico | 79, 39 | Dance | Salsa Dance Duo | 5 | ' |
| Patsy May | N/A | Comedy | Puppet Act | 1 | |
| Peat Loaf & Elaine | 52, 36 | Singing | Singing Duet | 5 | |
| Pyroterra | 19–26 | Danger / Variety | Fire Performers | 4 | |
| REAformed | 16–21 | Singing | Girl Group | 3 | |
| Ricky K | 33 | Comedy | Comic Mime Act | 2 | |
| Sam Jones | 21 | Comedy | Ventriloquist | 3 | |
| SweetChix | 14–15 | Singing | Girl Group | 2 | |
| The Addict Initiative | 17–31 | Dance | Dance Troupe | 2 | ' |
| Toju | 40 | Comedy | Stand-up Comedian | 4 | |
| Yanis Marshall, Arnaud and Mehdi | 24–26 | Dance | Dance Trio | 3 |
- Ages denoted in this column pertain to those of the respective participant for their final performance for this series.
- No information on the puppeteer for this act was disclosed by the show.
Semi-finals summary
Semi-final 1 (26 May)
Guest Performer, Results Show: Ella Henderson- Jon Clegg was later sent through to the final as the judges wildcard.
Semi-final 2 (27 May)
- For health and safety reasons, Bolddog FMX Team's performance was pre-recorded outside the studio in advance.
Semi-final 3 (28 May)
Semi-final 4 (29 May)
Guest Performers, Results Show: will.i.am & Cody WiseSemi-final 5 (31 May)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Attraction, and Richard & Adam- Paddy & Nico's performance had to be slightly modified before the semi-final, after the former was injured before its broadcast.
Final (7 June)
| Finalist | Order | Act | Finished |
| The Addict Initiative | 1 | Dance Troupe | 10th |
| Jon Clegg | 2 | Impressionist | 7th |
| Lettice Rowbotham | 3 | Violinist | 8th |
| Yanis Marshall, Arnaud and Mehdi | 4 | Dance Trio | 11th |
| Bars and Melody | 5 | Rapper & Singer Duo | 3rd |
| James Smith | 6 | Singer & Guitarist | 6th |
| Jack Pack | 7 | Singing Group | 4th |
| Darcy Oake | 8 | Illusionist | 5th |
| Paddy & Nico | 9 | Salsa Dance Duo | 9th |
| Collabro | 10 | Musical Theatre Group | 1st |
| Lucy Kay | 11 | Opera Singer | 2nd |