Like any televised talent show competition, Britain’s Got Talent attracts those who want to make a splash.
And whether it’s judges including Amanda Holden turning heads with dresses that show a little bit more skin than is customary, or comedians including Nabil Abdulrashid making jokes about race relations in the United Kingdom, the show has certainly platformed splashmakers.
Auzzy Blood is just the latest to raise eyebrows. Here’s a brief rundown of some of the show’s more controversial moments, ranked roughly in order of how many Ofcom complaints they have received.
Kimberly Winter burping The Winner Takes It All by ABBA – 54 Ofcom complaints
In April 2024, an episode of Britain’s Got Talent prompted 54 people to complain to Ofcom, per the Standard.
Ofcom is short for Office of Communications. It’s the government-approved regulatory authority for TV and other industries. It basically sets rules that TV producers have to follow.
As a viewer, you’re allowed to complain to Ofcom that a TV show you’ve watched contains something you think is inappropriate.
Kimberly Winter’s unconventional performance involved her burping the ABBA song The Winner Takes It All.
It bemused Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, Simon Cowell and Bruno Tonioli, although Simon called it “so stupid, it was brilliant”. Bruno came round, too, voting her through to the next round.
Viewers at home took to social media to brand Winter’s performance “revolting” and “disgusting”, while others tipped her for a knighthood.
Chantaaaal’s Titanic-themed drag act – 78 Ofcom complaints
Drag performer Chantaaaal took to the Britain’s Got Talent stage in May 2024.
They dressed up as the Titanic – yes, the whole Titanic – and sang Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On, from the movie soundtrack, before unfurling their costume into the shape of an iceberg.
With a headpiece that puffed out fake smoke and a routine that involved hosts Ant and Dec throwing them a life jacket, Chantaaaal impressed the judges.
Simon Cowell noted that no one had ever sung, and been the boat, and the iceberg, and the ocean at the same time, “and that’s a first”.
However, as the Daily Mail reported at the time, 78 people contacted Ofcom to complain about the performance. Complainants objected to a routine parodying the story of the Titanic, and the people who lost their lives when it sank.
Stuntman Thomas Vu’s Rubik’s Cube fire performance – 400 Ofcom complaints
Rewind a year to April 2023, when stuntman Thomas Vu shocked audiences in the auditorium and at home with a performance involving a Rubik’s Cube and… a lot of fire.
Vu, covered from head to toe in a special fire-retardant gel, was set alight by a stagehand and proceeded to solve a Rubik’s Cube while engulfed in flames.
It was quite a sight, and Ant and Dec dutifully informed audiences not to try it at home.
However, over the course of the weekend, Ofcom received 400 complaints relating to Thomas Vu’s fiery performance, according to The Independent.
Viewers who had lost family members in fires said they had to switch off. Others feared that “impressionable children” might re-enact the stunt…
Amanda Holden’s dresses – 1,000+ Ofcom complaints
Veteran Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden has, during her time on the show, offended many an audience member.
How?
By wearing clothes they deem to be too revealing.
Her most-complained-about dress was a black Julien MacDonald gown worth more than £11,000. She wore it in June 2017, prompting 633 viewers to write to the office of communications with a bee in their bonnet.
It was the most complained about TV moment of the year. The Sun quoted her saying, at the time, that it had been called a “national crisis”, and defiantly explaining that she “will not be covered up”.
In 2020, she wore a Celia Kritharioti off-the-shoulder dress with a thigh-high split and deep V-neckline that led to 235 Ofcom complaints.
And a month later, she wore a Suzanne Neville dress that got on the wrong side of 136 people watching at home.
Read more about Amanda Holden’s biggest scandals here!
Alesha Dixon’s necklace – 1,900 Ofcom complaints
Now we’re getting into the big numbers.
In September 2020, following a summer in which Black Lives Matter protests had dominated headlines in the UK, the US and elsewhere, Alesha Dixon did the unthinkable: she supported the movement.
She wore a necklace that featured the letters BLM in gold, and as a result, Ofcom received 1,901 complaints. The regulator revealed that the vast majority of the complaints it had received related to Alesha’s choice of jewellery, per the BBC.
A spokesperson for Ofcom said at the time that the regulatory body was “assessing these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate”.
Alesha Dixon’s jewellery choice followed a performance by dance troupe Diversity earlier in the year, which will come up a bit later in this list.
Nabil Abdulrashid’s jokes – 3,000 Ofcom complaints
A month after Alesha’s necklace prompted nearly 2,000 viewers to write in to Ofcom, comedian Nabil Abdulrashid continued the national conversation on race relations in the UK with a series of routines.
His stand-up performance took him to the final of the show.
They also prompted waves of complaints to Ofcom – 3,000 over the course of the season.
He laughed off the “snowflakes” who had objected to his routines.
“They complained because we said black lives matter – thousands of complaints,” the BBC quotes him as saying. “To be honest I’m shocked that many of them know how to write.”
He later joked on Twitter that he was “happy I’ve kept workers at Ofcom from being made redundant. I’m a hero and should be appreciated for my contribution to the economy. @Ofcom you’re welcome.”
A spokesperson for Ofcom reportedly said his “satirical take on his life experiences as a black Muslim was likely to have been within audience expectations”. It therefore rejected the 3,000 complaints.
Ashley Banjo and Diversity’s Black Lives Matter-inspired dance routine – 25,000+ Ofcom complaints
The most complained about Britain’s Got Talent episode ever was one that featured the dance group Diversity, fronted by choreographer and dancer Ashley Banjo.
In September 2020, Diversity performed a Black Lives Matter-inspired routine. It featured a white performer kneeling on Ashley’s neck in reference to George Floyd’s death in police custody.
Dancers dressed as riot police.
Other themes included the Covid-19 pandemic, poverty and capitalism; Banjo explained afterwards that the performance was supposed to represent a “round-up of an extraordinary year” and “summarise the crazy rollercoaster of emotions” of 2020.
All in all, the performance attracted more than 25,000 complaints to the media regulator.
However, Banjo assured his Instagram followers that those expressing negativity were in the minority.
“Trust me,” he said. “I’m right in the centre of it. The negativity is the minority…”
He also said: “We stand by every single decision we made with that performance.” Ashley also thanked all those who had reached out with words of support.
Watch his Instagram video addressing the furore below. So far, it has been viewed half a million times.
View this post on Instagram
BGT airs on ITV1 on Saturday nights. It repeats on Sunday (February 23) at 3.45pm on ITV2.
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