Britain’s Got Talent 2026 fans spotted an unexpected detail in teenage magician Rafferty Coope’s grand final performance.
20:24, 30 May 2026Updated 20:49, 30 May 2026
Britain’s Got Talent star Rafferty Coope. (Image: ITV)
The Britain’s Got Talent 2026 final has arrived, though not everything has gone according to plan tonight.
Ten acts have returned for this evening’s BGT grand finale on Saturday, 30 May, on ITV, including teenage magician Rafferty Coope, who says his aim is simply to bring joy to people.
During his final performance, he attempted to convey this message once more, beginning by asking judges Alesha Dixon and KSI to select raffle tickets from a bag.
They announced the ticket numbers, which Rafferty then inscribed on top of a grand piano as 371415, before rotating the piano and declaring that it spelled out “smile”.
Nevertheless, viewers were swift to take to X to point out that it didn’t spell smile but rather a five-letter profanity instead.
“Anyone got a screengrab of that piano lid? It said s***e”, someone enquired.
Britain’s Got Talent finalist Rafferty Coope next to a grand white piano.(Image: ITV)
Another posted: “Why does the piano say s***e on top of it…”, with a third asking: “What numbers spell s***e when they’re turned upside down?”
While another concurred: “SMILE? I thought it said s***e.”
However, others believed that Rafferty had spelled out the nonsensical word “sihile”, with fans continuing to ridicule.
“To quote Charlie Chaplin – Sihile though your heart is breaking…”, a viewer quipped.
Another commented: “Ah yes, that old saying: ‘SIHILE! It might never happen!'”
A fan posted: “Let’s all sihile because it’s finished” as a fellow user remarked: “Can someone tell Rafferty how to spell SMILE cause it ain’t sihile.”
Britain’s Got Talent finalist Rafferty Coope during his live final performance.(Image: ITV)
Another viewer quipped: “So he had a big f*****g piano brought on stage so he could write on it but couldn’t even write the word properly.”
However, not all reactions were critical, with some viewers noting that Rafferty appeared to be “nervous” during his performance.
One fan enthused: “Rafferty Coope that was incredible how this young lads dose magic in such a different way! Incredible act who will go far in his chosen career and definitely made me smile!”
A second agreed: “Rafferty Coope is spellbinding What a remarkably charming act”, while a third added: “Rafferty Coope is truly phenomenal and I genuinely hope he has a career after this as a magician. He’s such a lovely lad.”
Britain’s Got Talent is available to watch on ITVX.