Britain's Got Talent (series 3)
The third series of Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV from 11 April 2009 to 30 May 2009. Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan returned as judges. Ant & Dec returned as hosts with Stephen Mulhern coming back to present Britain's Got More Talent. Kelly Brook was originally announced as a new fourth judge, reportedly being offered £200,000 for the role, but was fired after just six days, having acted as a judge in Manchester only, just one of the five audition venues. According to Cowell, the reason given for sacking Brook was because the producers decided the format was "too complicated" with four judges.
Auditions took place in Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, London and Cardiff. One of the most notable performances for the series was by Susan Boyle, a 48-year-old Scottish woman, during the auditions. Boyle sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical Les Misérables. The performance earned a unanimous "yes" vote and resounding astonishment from the judges. Her performance helped lift the show to a launch record of 11.2 million viewers. Within five days of her initial appearance, YouTube recordings of the event had collectively generated more than 100 million views. Boyle also attracted widespread international media coverage.
The series was won by street dance troupe Diversity, with Susan Boyle finishing second and saxophonist Julian Smith finishing third.
Read more about Britain's Got Talent (series 3): Judges and Presenters, Auditions, Semi-finalists, Semi-final Summary, Final
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