Hassaan

Seriously, what is wrong with them? You almost hope that they don't actually believe in half of the batshit stuff they come out with, but somehow that's actually worse.

Glad to see Alex through. I think he was definitely stronger when he was ad libbing, but I'm not surprised that the audience liked him. Bit surprised at Trixy, as I thought the jugglers would have had a shot, but magicians have historically been quite popular with the voting. Certainly in the last 7-8 years. I think the wildcard will be between Denise and Stefan or possibly Trickstars if they want someone different.

It would probably be fair to say that Boris Johnson has done and said way worse, yet he gets the "he's just trying his best" treatment.

Looking at the 'With Love' tour, they're singing some songs which have been rarely performed live. Some include Evergreen, Beautiful in White, Angel and My Hero.

I think Harrison was better than his audition, but I think it ended up being a bit flat. His nerves and inexperience showed a bit, and maybe he needed something that was more impactful. You kind of need to play the BGT game a bit, and go for something with some big high note or something. To quote Kyle Tomlinson (2017 finalist), it helps to have a "vote note" (a big moment that's basically going to get you votes).

I'm surprised at A&A topping the night given they performed second, but I'm glad they got through. And the choir.

I can't celebrate this knowing that he's still able to potentially be president while in jail.

Pleased with the result tonight.

I get why they had him sing something that is "current" though, because it was sort of a promotion for the film.

I don't know if I'll watch it but it'll be worth it to see Sunak put his foot in it and to see Starmer (hopefully) expose his weaknesses.

I'm not surprised Jack topped the night. Magicians do have a habit of topping the vote, particularly in recent years. Part of me did wonder if Ravi's Dream Team would get a full house from the judges. I think that was the right decision though. Side note: anyone else watch with subtitles? I notice that they jump ahead slightly sometimes, suggesting that the show is on a delay. I should probably turn it off at the result tomorrow!

I'm not sure what Starmer is going for. Is he trying to be a nicer version of the Tories to win votes? They could go aggressively the other way (and being basically the opposite of the Tories) but many would argue that wouldn't win votes. I do think childish behaviour on social media doesn't help though. There's so many things to criticise Sunak for than his footballing skills.

Simon was remarkably cold given they were his GB act, though he was right. Until they got Bruno involved, I would have said it was underwhelming, though sadly it didn't save it.

The right two went through. I think Taryn & Duo Stardust were a bit unlucky to not make the top 3. I'm amazed at the judges not dithering about with the judges vote, they tend to have a habit of that.

They're like cartoon villains. Hard to imagine we ever took them seriously.

I mean, if Reform just splits the Tory vote, that's a positive, surely? The Tories winning in 2019 was awful but I can see why they did. The Brexit thing definitely helped. They have nothing like that this time round.

I think Sunak has conjured this up so he has a line of attack for Starmer supposedly not being tough enough.

Three GB acts on the first show is interesting. I think there could be a few upsets, but that's the beauty of the live shows.

I thought it was very Saturday Night Takeaway.

They had a break in 2021. I think it's difficult to refresh a show like BGT, certainly compared to something like Strictly or I'm a Celebrity. It's series 17 so we've seen pretty much everything that we could see. Most shows on linear TV have fallen from where they were, but BGT is still the biggest show on TV right now.

I do think the standard of singing acts and stand-up comedians this year has been better than last year. Even though the GB doesn't really do anything from a format point of view, I do think 9 is too much. They haven't had the big emotional moments this year. Magic acts are always a bit hit and miss for me, but at least they've been a bit different.

Yes, I prefer the stripped week too and whenever they've done weekly semi finals before (BGT Champions and those delayed ones in 2020) it hasn't worked very well. I'm looking forward to seeing what the live shows shape up as. The acts we might deem favourites might struggle. Also, this seems to be the only online space where people who watch BGT are actually not only negative...

We should make it a rule that anyone calling for National Service should be made to do it.

I'd be amazed if it passes through, especially if their idea is to force people to do it.

I think this is exactly what they intended.