Britain's Got Talent (series 3)

Judges and presenters

Initially, it was announced that Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan would return as judges for the third series of Britain's Got Talent, along with the addition of new judge Kelly Brook. However, it was later announced that Brook was to leave the panel after just six days working on the show. It was reported that Cowell felt "very bad" following Brook's exit and that he had offered her a job in another role on the show. It was also reported that Brook would receive her full £100,000 fee for appearing on the show. According to Cowell, the reason given for sacking Brook was because the producers decided the format was "too complicated" with four judges. She has since been referred to as a "guest judge" at only Manchester.

Ant & Dec returned as hosts of the main show on ITV. Stephen Mulhern also returned as host of the sister-show Britain's Got More Talent.

Auditions

The application process took place throughout January and February 2009. First the judges visited Manchester for three days where they saw a total of 120 auditioners. They then visited Glasgow for a day, viewing a total of 40 auditioners. They then headed back down south to England, and to Birmingham for three days, watching a further 120 auditioners.

The next stop was London, where the judges saw a total of 128 acts over three days from Wednesday 28 January to Friday 30 January. Finally, the judges went to Cardiff for a day on Monday 3 February, where they saw 40 auditioners attempt to win their vote. Auditions were also to be held in Newcastle, but were cancelled just days beforehand.

Semi-finalists

On 23 May, the 40 semi-finalists selected from the almost 200 successful auditions in the First round Call-Backs were revealed.

Semi-final summary

The "Order" columns lists the order of appearance each act made for every episode.

Ratings

Performance order

Although the show denies that the three judges influence performance order, the production company has never confirmed that the order is random or based on any objective criteria. The lack of objective criteria is underlined by Morgan's comments four days after the final: "I think Flawless were unlucky to have gone on first. If they had gone last it may have been different. They're both amazing dance groups. Diversity were just very lucky."

Fabia Cerra

Burlesque dancer Fabia Cerra sparked complaints after her performance in the audition stages was criticised as being unsuitable for a family audience. Cerra undid the top half of her clothing, revealing her breasts, covered with tassels, although the editing of the program included two Union Jack flags as graphics to completely cover her exposed breasts. Despite this, both the producers of the show and ITV received 40 complaints.

Fred Bowers

Elderly breakdancer Fred Bowers, who did make into the live semi-finals, was also reported to have made disability claims for his leg, despite having no obvious major problems with it. Since the story emerged in the media, Bowers vowed to pay all the money owed back if he was found to be in the wrong. He died in 2012.

Natalie Okri

Natalie Okri's performance of Jamelia's "Superstar" in the semi-final was criticised by Simon Cowell for being a bad choice of song. After reaching the Top 3 with dance troupe Diversity in the first semi-final, Okri cried on stage after Simon Cowell chose to put Diversity through to the final instead of her. Following this, Lily Allen called the show, saying Cowell's decision, "bordering on child cruelty". After the show, Okri and her mother complained that the song choice was made by the producers and they had been given no choice but to accept.

Susan Boyle

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) became concerned by press reports about Susan Boyle's erratic behaviour and speculation about her mental condition, and wrote to remind editors about clause 3 (privacy) of their code of press conduct. The day after the final, Boyle was admitted to The Priory, a private psychiatric clinic in London, TalkbackThames explained "Following Saturday night's show, Susan is exhausted and emotionally drained." Her stay in hospital attracted widespread attention with the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, wishing her well.

Hollie Steel

In the fifth and last semi-final, contestant Hollie Steel broke down, crying uncontrollably during her performance of "Edelweiss" and was unable to continue singing. After initially being told by Ant & Dec that there was not enough time for her to restart her performance, Simon Cowell over-ruled and she sang the song from scratch again after street dancer and fellow finalist Aidan Davis, complete with judges' comments. She also beat rock opera singer Greg Pritchard in the judges' vote on the basis of her bravery, which was again seen as unfair. Steel has been the only act allowed to restart throughout the entire series, and the time that was found for her second performance forced later acts to be rushed into smaller time slots, which may have hampered their performances as a consequence.

Jamie Pugh

Welsh pizza delivery man Jamie Pugh was branded as a fake following his Cardiff audition. When Cowell asked him if he had ever performed in public, a seemingly nervous Pugh replied that he had not. It later emerged that he had previous West End experience, with videos exposed by The Sun showing him singing in front of an audience at Her Majesty's Theatre. Holden later regretted her decision to put him through to the next round, describing him as "a very weak Paul Potts."