Amanda Holden had the responsibility of pressing it in the first semi-final, with the caveat that it could only be pressed once.
Acts in the first semi-final included dog performer Anastasiia and her pet Salsa, magician Fraser Penman, singer Matty Juniosa and aerial performer Paul Nunnari.
Additionally, acrobatic quartet The Rafikiz, dance group Celtic Beat, comedian and rapper Christy Coysh and drummer Nancy Tilley took part.
Who was awarded the golden buzzer in the first BGT 2026 semi-final?
The golden buzzer went right down to the last act, as despite calls from the audience to send the likes of The Rafikiz, Celtic Beat and Anastasiia through, Amanda held off.
Singer Matty Juniosa wowed the crowd and the judges with the final performance of the night.
When giving their verdicts, Amanda revealed she’d asked the producers what would happen if she didn’t press her golden buzzer.
She was told it would go to the audience in that circumstance, but Amanda didn’t need to wait for that, as she pressed it for Matty.
Matty had already received one golden buzzer from Simon Cowell to send him through to the semi-finals, and he was the beneficiary of it again here to get to the final.
Taking to X, plenty of people were happy to see Matty get through as one viewer described him as “absolutely amazing”.
Another said: “I’m actually really glad Matty got the golden buzzer.
“He’s the sort of act that is stupidly talented but the public would choose a dog over.
“He so deserves to be in the final.”
How many semi-finals are there for BGT 2026?
Including tonight’s episode (broadcast on Saturday, April 25), there will be five live semi-finals for the 2026 series of Britain’s Got Talent.
They will air every Saturday, apart from the fourth semi-final, which will air on Sunday, May 17, due to the Eurovision Song Contest taking place the day before.
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What does the winner of BGT 2026 get?
There have been 18 winners of BGT since its first series in 2007, with magician Harry Moulding winning last year.
The winner of BGT will take home a prize of £250,000 and will also be given the chance to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in front of the royal family.
In the ITV show’s first three years, winners won a prize of £100,000, while the biggest winners were Ashleigh and Pudsey with a prize pot of £500,000 in 2012.
Did x and x deserve to go through to the BGT final? Let us know in the comments.