Britain's Got Talent aired its live semi-final at 6pm on Saturday May 16, 2026, after the show was moved forward because Eurovision was set to air later in the evening on the. The change gave the contest an early start, but the mood inside the studio was anything but gentle when Wei Yamin took the stage with a pipe-led routine built around several dance music songs.
By the end of the performance, two judges had already hit their red buzzers. Amanda Holden said, “I just don’t feel like that’s something I want the Royal Family to see,” while KSI was even harsher, saying, “No… I’m sorry, yes you added fire. It still didn’t make it good. All I’m saying is, you can’t polish a poo and that was poo.” Ant later told the audience, after the boos began, “A little bit of class wouldn’t go amiss,” as the room pushed back at the comments.
The semi-final mattered because it was one of the live rounds deciding who would move closer to the final of the long-running talent show, where the winner receives £250,000 and a place at The Royal Variety performance. Ant and Dec opened the episode by telling viewers that Simon Cowell had the golden buzzer for the week, a reminder that one act can still be sent straight through if he chooses to use it. Without that, the public is set to send through two acts rather than one.
The lineup on the night was broad: Epic Sax Guy, singer Kristel Herrera, magician Rafferty Coope, rapper Ren DMC, poet Sonny Green, musical firework act Wei Yamin, gymnasts Welsch Master Team and the Glan Taf Boys Choir all featured in the live semi-final. But it was Yamin’s performance that drew the sharpest criticism from the panel. Cowell called it a “warm up act,” said he did not think Yamin would get to the final and added that the act did not do enough different things.
The reaction underlined how unforgiving the live rounds can be. A performer can arrive with a crowd-pleasing idea and still leave with the judges split, the audience booing and a path to the final suddenly looking thinner. With Eurovision moving the start time to 6pm, the episode had an unusual schedule, but the stakes remained the same: one golden buzzer, two acts through if it is not used, and a place in the final still hanging in the balance for everyone else.
