Who are the Britain's Got Talent judges, who is hosting BGT 2024 and how to get tickets for Live Semi-Finals

Britain’s Got Talent 2024 is finally here, with all the action kicking off this weekend with all the talented acts from the London and Manchester auditions.

BGT season 17 is following a new format, with BGT judges and hosts Ant and Dec now having nine golden buzzers between them - which is nearly double last year’s five. This means that more contestants than ever have the chance to win the golden buzzer and make it through to the live performances round.

The lucky candidates will compete for a chance to win a £250,000 cash prize and a spot in the Royal Variety Performance. Here’s everything you need to know about who will be judging them in Britain’s Got Talent 2024.

Who are the judges on Britain’s Got Talent 2024?

Our four favourite judges will be returning to Britain’s Got Talent, with newest face Bruno Tonioli back on the panel for the second time, alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon.

Tonioli joined the team after David Walliams' shock exit in November 2022. He’s already been a hit with fans and caused quite the commotion during the auditions when it was reported in January that he broke his golden buzzer due to excitement.

Why did David Walliams leave Britain’s Got Talent?

Walliams, who had been part of the judging panel for ten years, left BGT after he faced backlash when it was revealed he had made derogatory and sexually explicit comments about contestants.

The comedian was recorded making the statements during filming of audition episodes at the London Palladium in January 2020. The Guardian reported the comments after reviewing leaked transcripts. According to the transcripts it was suggested that Walliams had referred to an older performer as a “c***” three times and suggested that sexually explicit comments had been made after a female contestant had left the stage.

He issued a statement apologising for the comments at the time, saying: “I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020. These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry.” The comedian sued Fremantle, the producer of Britain's Got Talent, for misuse of private information and for breaching UK General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. The production company issued an apology in November 2023, after they reached an “amicable resolution”.

Who is hosting Britain’s Got Talent?

Ant and Dec are back hosting Britain’s Got Talent. The duo will be returning to our screens one week after the emotional final episode of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.

The pair have revealed that the judges have been “even more badly behaved” during filming this time around, joking that they had been “playing tricks” on them. Ant explained: “It's not just the pressing of the Golden Buzzers numerous times, they've also played tricks on us. Normally it's us pranking the judges, but the tables have been turned this year and we weren't expecting that. Naughty judges!”

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What time does Britain’s Got Talent start?

Britain’s Got Talent will start tonight (April 20) on ITV1 and ITVX at 7.30pm, ending at 8.55pm. The first episode will feature auditions filmed in London and Manchester, with acts from around the world looking to impress our judges.

How to get tickets for Britain’s Got Talent 2024?

Tickets for the auditions are no longer available as they took place in January, however registration to l grab a pair of tickets for the upcoming live semi-finals at Applause Store is now open.

Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also share your thoughts in the comment section below.