Britain's Got Talent (series 6)

The sixth series of Britain's Got Talent began airing on ITV on 24 March 2012 and ended on 12 May 2012. Ant & Dec returned to present the main show on ITV, while Stephen Mulhern returned to present spin-off show Britain's Got More Talent on ITV2. Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden returned as judges. Alesha Dixon and David Walliams joined the judging panel, replacing Michael McIntyre and David Hasselhoff. Carmen Electra served as a guest judge for the London auditions in Holden's absence. The series was won by dancing dog act Ashleigh and Pudsey, with opera duo Jonathan and Charlotte coming second. Welsh choir Only Boys Aloud came third. This was the first series since series 4 where Cowell was present at the auditions after only being present at the live shows in series 5.

From this series onwards, the winner's cash prize was increased from £100,000 to £500,000, and the number of judges was increased from three to four. The series was supposed to premiere on 14 April, as mid-April is when each series usually begins, but it was brought forward three weeks to premiere on 24 March – the same night as the launch of The Voice UK on BBC One. Many media outlets saw this move as a deliberate attempt by ITV to create a "TV ratings war" with the BBC.

Britain's Got Talent (series 4)

The fourth series of Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV from 17 April 2010 to 5 June 2010. The show was hosted by Ant & Dec on ITV, while Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan returned as judges.

Auditions were then held in Manchester at the Manchester Opera House, Cardiff's Wales Millennium Centre, Newcastle's Journal Tyne Theatre, Birmingham's Birmingham Hippodrome and ended on 10 February at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo in London. Due to illness, Cowell was unable to attend the filming of the Birmingham auditions and Louis Walsh stood in for him at the last minute, the first time that Cowell has missed an audition show in his entire career. The next five shows were the live semi-finals, the live final and the live final results show. They were shown from 31 May to 5 June. This was Morgan's last series of Britain's Got Talent, as he left to host his new show Piers Morgan Tonight in the United States.

The series was won by gymnastic troupe Spelbound, with dance duo Twist and Pulse finishing in second place and drummer Kieran Gaffney in third place.

Britain's Got Talent (series 2)

The second series of Britain's Got Talent was broadcast from 12 April 2008 and ended on 31 May 2008. Notable differences from the first series included the fact that auditions were held for the first time in Scotland and that there were 40 acts in the live semi-finals, compared to 24 the previous year. This series also ran for longer, this time airing seven weeks instead of one. 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 on ITV2. Auditions took place in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Blackpool. It was the first time that auditions were held in Glasgow and Blackpool.

The series was won by street dancer George Sampson, with dance duo Signature coming in second and singer Andrew Johnston in third.

Judges

It was announced that Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan would return as judges for the second series of Britain's Got Talent.

Britain's Got Talent (series 9)

The ninth series of Britain's Got Talent began airing on ITV on 11 April 2015. Ant & Dec returned to present the main show on ITV, while Stephen Mulhern returned to present the spin-off show Britain's Got More Talent on ITV2. Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden returned for their respective ninth series on the judging panel, whilst Alesha Dixon and David Walliams returned for their fourth series.

Jules O'Dwyer and her dog Matisse won the competition. Magician Jamie Raven came second with Welsh choir Côr Glanaethwy in third, and dance act Old Men Grooving finishing fourth place. The result marked the second time that a dog act had won the whole competition (following Ashleigh & Pudsey in 2012).

Judges and presenters

After the conclusion of the eighth series on 7 June 2014, speculation began about who would return to the judging panel for series 9. On 8 June, it was reported that Simon Cowell may leave the panel.David Walliams sparked rumours that he may not return. However, Amanda Holden announced on 31 October that she, Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Walliams would all return as judges for series 9. On 16 January, ITV confirmed that Cowell, Holden, Dixon and Walliams would be returning for series 9.