Britain’s Got Talent fans have slammed judges for not giving singer Nic Vani a Golden Buzzer after his stunning Lion King performance left the panel speechless

Meghna Amin Screen Time Reporter

21:41, 04 Apr 2026

Nic Vani on BGT

His audition was described as “phenomenal”(Image: ITV)

Britain’s Got Talent viewers insisted one singer was “robbed” of a golden buzzer.

The ITV talent competition returned this evening, with Stacey Solomon stepping in for Simon Cowell as she joined KSI, Alesha Dixon, and Amanda Holden on the judging panel.

Saturday night’s variety show featured yet another round of auditions, with a stuntman, a magic trio, and a school group all taking to the stage.

Closing out the episode, father-of-three Nic Vani from Kent left audiences spellbound with his rendition of The Lion King’s Circle of Life.

“In my music career, I’ve always been at the back, so now I think it’s time for me to be in the spotlight,” he said, reports the Mirror.

Ant and Dec on BGT

Viewers fumed Nic was “robbed” of a golden buzzer(Image: ITV)

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Following his remarkable performance, the judges were utterly astounded, with KSI remarking, “Nic, I’m speechless, you weren’t in the thick of it, you owned it. That was phenomenal, your vocals were so crisp, clean, and made the crowd go crazy.”

He further commented, “You’re not a backup, you are the main event.”

Amanda gushed: “I couldn’t agree more, the clarity of your voice, you’ve got such an amazing tone, I mean, you really, really made that song your own, it’s obviously a very familiar song, but I don’t know why, it felt like I was hearing it for the first time. What a star.”

Stacey Solomon stepped in for Simon Cowell on BGT

Stacey Solomon stepped in for Simon Cowell(Image: ITV)

Stacey enthused, “I loved every bit of that. You’ve got such a powerful voice, the fact you can get that high was just incredible.”

“Loved the polished tone to your voice, absolutely superb, can’t wait to see more of you, you deserve to be at the front of that stage,” Alesha said.

Audiences were largely in agreement, though many were outraged that Nic had been denied a golden buzzer, which would have sent him straight through to the live semi-finals.

BGT judges

The judges gave Nic a standing ovation(Image: ITV)

Ordinarily, each judge along with Ant and Dec are each permitted to press the buzzer for one act during the audition stages, with Stacey having already awarded hers to a group of schoolchildren earlier in the same episode.

One disgruntled viewer fumed: “#BritainsGotTalent golden buzzer baffles me. Actual talented people don’t seem to get it.”

Another hit out: “Sorry, how did he not get a golden buzzer??? ‘No one had any left’ idgaffffff Bruno used two before, pretty sure Simon’s used two as well, they make their own rules, bro, he deserved one.”

Nic Vani on BGT

Nic stunned audiences with his rendition of Circle of Life(Image: ITV)

One viewer gushed: “Nick, you have one of the most beautiful male voices I’ve ever heard. Such a beautiful tone. What a star!”

A further incensed viewer wrote: “ROBBED SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE GOLDEN BUZZER.”

“Now THAT was a Golden Buzzer act!!” agreed another, with a fellow viewer echoing: “Now THAT is golden buzzer worthy!!!!”

“GOLDEN BUZZER WORTHY,” yet another wrote, while one viewer added: “This is giving me goosebumps.”

Britain’s Got Talent returns on Saturday at 6.45pm on ITV1 and ITVX