Britain’s Got Talent 2018 introducing rule change to live shows following ratings dip

The judges will have more influence over who makes the grand final

The producers of Britain’s Got Talent may be getting slightly worried about their shows ratings: last night’s episode (26 May) – which featured Ant McPartlin’s final scene of the series – brought a record low number of viewers, an average 5.6 million people tuning in according to TellyMix.

Hoping to spice things up, ITV has announced that the way the live shows work is changing.

Previous, the live semi-finals saw viewers vote for their favourite act, the two performers with the most votes going forward to the grand final.

However, this year will see only one act automatically go through (the one with the most votes). The acts in second and third will then be voted on by the judges — Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams — who will have the final say on who goes through.

Britain’s Got Talent remains the most-watched show in the UK, although ratings mark a large year-on-year drop for the show. Last night’s episode was hit particularly bad thanks to the bank holiday and the Champion’s League Cup Final.