How to apply for Britain's Got Talent

Simon Cowell's ITV talent show has already opened applications to audition for the 18th series of BGT in 2025.

Ant & Dec and Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell, Bruno Tonioli on Britain's Got Talent. (ITV)
Britain's Got Talent has already opened applications for its 18th series. (ITV)

Britain's Got Talent has only just finished its 17th series and is already searching for its next winner.

Simon Cowell's ITV talent show has opened applications to audition for the 18th series of BGT in 2025. BGT hopefuls can send in a video of themselves to producers online, via WhatsApp and even by post. Or they can choose to nominate somebody else to take part in the show.

The champion of Britain's Got Talent gets a prize of £250,000 in cash and the opportunity to be a part of the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall. Past winners include Paul Potts, who won the very visit BGT back in 2008, dance troupe Diversity, Norwegian comedian Viggo Venn, and most recently singer Sydnie Christmas.

If you think you have got what it takes to win Britain's Got Talent and dazzle Cowell, judges Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, Bruno Tonioli and hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, here is what you need to do.

Britain's Got Talent 2024 winner Sydnie Christmas at her audition.
You can apply to audition on the BGT stage. (ITV)

The fastest and easiest way to audition for the show is to send a video on WhatsApp to BGT. The talent show's number is 07387361518 and videos should be less than five minutes long. Applicants should remember to send their name and location in their message.

You can sign up to perform an in-person audition for BGT by registering your details with the official casting company for the show. After registering you can also send a link to an existing YouTube clip or video.

Hopefuls can post their showreel or DVD to the Britain's Got Talent office in London but must remember to include their full name, date of birth, email address and telephone number as well as a description of their act.

Community choir Northants Sing Out were voted through to the BGT final. (ITV)
You can apply to nominate a group or individual you think should be on BGT. (ITV)

Alternatively, you can sign someone else up for BGT by filling in the nomination registration form to tell the team about a group or individual you think deserves to appear in the show. Successful applicants could find themselves performing at the auditions at Wembley Stadium in front of the judges.

The current deadline for online applications is 23:59 GMT on Friday, 31 January 2025.

BGT' was somewhat marred this year, amid complaints from viewers that winner Sydnie Christmas already had a professional career. Others felt there were too many recycled acts appearing at the auditions. A recent poll by Yahoo UK found 69 per cent of those surveyed think BGT has had its day.