EXCLUSIVE: Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts shared his views on this year’s series, ahead of one of 10 acts being crowned the 2026 champion
Jeremy Clarkson is backing The Hawkstone Farmers Choir for the BGT win(Image: PRIME VIDEO)
Tonight marks the Britain’s Got Talent grand final, with 10 acts competing for the £250,000 prize money and a prestigious slot at the Royal Variety Performance. Among those hoping to win is Jeremy Clarkson’s The Hawkstone Farmers Choir, a group originally formed to appear in an advert for his beer brand.
Recently praising the choir on Heart Radio, Jeremy urged people to vote for them and thanked Amanda Holden for giving the act a pass to the semi-final via the golden buzzer.
Ahead of tonight’s live showdown, the programme’s very first winner, Paul Potts, shared his views on the choir’s prospects with Sky Vegas.
When asked whether their connection to such a well known celebrity could give them an advantage, he said: “The Hawkstone Farmers Choir do feel slightly like an advert for Jeremy Clarkson’s brand at times, and normally something that close to branding would raise questions.
“Whether it helps them depends on whether they’ve genuinely got the quality to back it up.”
Paul went on to suggest they were not the strongest choral act in the competition, instead praising The Lux City Choir, who did not make it through to the final.
The Hawkstones Farmers Choir are hoping to win the show(Image: Hawkstones Farmers’ Choir / ITV / BGT)
“The gospel choir that some people criticised for being over-produced were stronger vocally and probably deserved the place more,” he added.
“Hawkstone Farmers Choir were a bit pitchy at the start for me. They’ll do well, but I don’t think they’ll win.”
One act Paul is firmly backing is Filipino vocalist Matty Juniosa. “He’s got a fantastic voice. His bubbly nature might irritate some people because he’s completely unguarded in that way, but vocally he’s exceptional,” he shared.
Elaborating on his views, he commented: “There are probably too many magicians competing against each other, and with last year’s winner being a magician as well, they may end up splitting the vote.”
On the whole, Paul expressed that he feels the musical acts are “especially strong this year”, though he believes the performers have not been afforded “the best opportunity to shine”.
The opera singer also weighed in on the use of both the red and golden buzzers. Should judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and KSI take a dim view of any act’s performance, they retain the power to hit the red buzzer.
Paul Potts won Britain’s Got Talent in 2007 (Image: ITV)
Throughout the semi-finals, each judge is additionally granted the chance to fast-track their standout act of the evening directly to the final via the golden buzzer. This same format is mirrored during the audition stages, alongside Ant and Dec’s bolden buzzer, which propels acts straight through to the semi-finals.
“I don’t think any buzzers should exist at this stage of the competition. The normal buzzers shouldn’t be needed because if someone isn’t good enough, they shouldn’t be there in the first place,” he stated.
He went on to add: “Novelty acts shouldn’t be in the semi-finals or finals. Acts like Mr Cherry are fun, but they shouldn’t really be competing at this stage, and there shouldn’t be anyone in a semi-final deserving three buzzers.”
Also vying for this year’s title alongside The Hawkstone Farmers Choir and Matty are; Anastasiia and Salsa, Sadeck Berrabah and LMA, Fabian Fox, Liwei Yang, Ted Hill, Sonny Green, Rafferty Coope and Celestial.
A spokesperson for Britain’s Got Talent has been approached for comment.
Britain’s Got Talent airs tonight at 7.30pm on ITV and ITVX.