Britain's Got Talent (series 10)

Judges and presenters

On 27 September 2015, it was reported all four judges had signed for the tenth series, and Ant & Dec would return to present the main show on ITV, while Mulhern would return to present the sister show Britain's Got More Talent on ITV2. ITV also confirmed on 9 October 2015 that Cowell, Holden, Dixon, and Walliams would all return. Walliams' mother Kathleen Williams stepped in for Cowell, who was running late at the London auditions on 23 January.

Golden buzzer

The golden buzzer returned for its third series. Walliams confirmed on 16 January that the first golden buzzer was used by Holden at the Liverpool auditions. Dixon and Ant & Dec both pressed theirs on 23 January, and Walliams pressed his buzzer on 27 January at the London auditions. Cowell was the final person to press the buzzer and did so on 5 February at the Birmingham auditions.

Holden pressing her golden buzzer for singer Beau Dermott was broadcast on the series premiere on 9 April. Dixon's press of the buzzer for the 100 Voices of Gospel aired in the second episode. Walliams' buzzer press for Anne & Ian Marshall aired in the third episode. Ant & Dec pressed the buzzer in the fourth episode for singer Jasmine Elcock. Cowell was the final judge to push his golden buzzer for dance act Boogie Storm.

In the semi-finals, the 100 Voices of Gospel Choir and Beau Dermott won their respective semi-finals and got through to the final. Boogie Storm won the semi-final on a split decision. Jasmine Elcock won the judges choice in the fifth semi-final. Anne and Ian Marshall were eliminated in the second semi-final. This series marks the first time that most of the Golden Buzzer acts made it to the final.

Auditions

The first auditions episode aired from 7.00pm until 8.25pm. The other six aired from 8.00pm until 9.15/9.20pm, after Bang on the Money which aired from 7.00pm until 8.00pm.

Open auditions

The open auditions were held from 25 October to 7 December 2015 in Birmingham, London, Cardiff, Liverpool, Glasgow, and Manchester. An additional open audition was held in London on 10 January 2016.

Semi-finals

The semi-finals ran from 22 May to 26 May 2016. As with previous years, the performance show aired from 7.30pm to 9pm, and the results show aired at 9.30pm after Coronation Street.

Each results show featured a guest performance. The Cast of Motown: The Musical performed on 22 May, followed by OneRepublic on 23 May. Nick Jonas will perform on 24 May, followed by Jules, Matisse & Friends on 25 May. Fifth Harmony performed on 26 May. Clean Bandit & Louisa Johnson performed during the final on 28 May 2016.

Semi-finals Summary

Semi-final 1 (22 May)

Semi-final 2 (23 May)

Due to the high danger risk, Alex Magala's performance was pre-recorded before the live broadcast as a safety precaution.

Semi-final 3 (24 May)

Semi-final 4 (25 May)

Semi-final 5 (26 May)

Final (28 May)

The final took place on 28 May from 7.30pm until 10.05pm. The final saw a celebration of 10 years of the show with a special ‘Best of Britain’s Got Talent’ performance put together by Diversity’s Ashley Banjo.

Wildcard vote

Ratings

The series has enjoyed strong officials in the auditions, topping series 9 on many occasions. Episode 2, with 12.59 million, became the most-watched auditions episode since 2009. Episode 4 is the most time-shifted talent show episode ever, having added 2.57 million viewers through DVR and other recording sources. The series average of 9.51 million effortlessly topped The Voice UK's 6.49 million average for 2016. However the final was the lowest viewed final in the show's history, despite attracting nearly 10.5 million viewers. Some attribute this being due to the fact that the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid was shown at the same time as the final, the first time that the two events had ever clashed.

David Walliams' marriage

During the auditions, Walliams claimed that Cowell had not married his girlfriend, Lauren Silverman, to which Cowell responded saying: "Well, why aren't you married?" (referring to the recent divorce between him and his ex-wife, Lara Stone). This statement shocked the audience as well as Walliams. It seemed Walliams was hurt by Cowell's comment. One source said:

"David was a little caught out by the comment. While they were waiting for the next act to come out, he went to talk to Simon. He sat on the desk next to him and they had a few words with each other and seemed to sort it out."

Sources suggest that during the auditions 'tensions were high' between the two men and the crew were betting on whether Walliams might exit this series.

Stephen Mulhern

On Britain's Got More Talent, Mulhern became embroiled in controversy after staging a quiz that reportedly left Cowell "fuming". The reason being was that Mulhern gave out dalmatian puppies as prizes and Cowell discovered they were trembling, leading him to speak to the dogs' owners to check their well-being. In response to the subsequent backlash, Mulhern formally apologised for the stunt.

In addition to the dalmatian incident, Mulhern defended some minor controversy after viewers complained contestant Rachael Wooding should've not been allowed to complete in the show when it transpired Wooding already had a professional career.