Ant and Dec reveal Britain's Got Talent to break show record ahead of return

Britain’s Got Talent hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have revealed that the upcoming season marks a milestone for the show.

The beloved ITV talent competition returns this Saturday, April 20, for its 17th installment, offering viewers an array of show-stopping performances, laugh out loud moments, and the occasional surprise.

Prior to its debut, Ant and Dec announced during the BGT press launch that audiences can expect a record-breaking moment this season - the judges awarding three golden buzzers in a single day.

The TV duo shared: “We also have three golden buzzers dished out in one day which I think could be a BGT record, proving the talent this year is stronger than ever.”

They also disclosed that the judges had a stroke of luck to even have the opportunity to press the golden buzzer this season after Bruno Tonioli accidentally broke the button on the first day of filming.

“We were lucky to get any golden buzzers at all actually because Bruno [Tonioli] broke the golden buzzer on the first day of filming,” Dec explained. “Smashed it to bits.”

Later, when speaking to the media, head judge Simon Cowell confessed that, apart from Alesha Dixon, the other judges, as well as Ant and Dec, deviated from the norm and pressed the golden buzzer for a second time, meaning there’s a total of nine golden buzzers in 2024.

“We had more than one,” Cowell, 64, admitted.

Dixon, 45, interjected: “I only had one, I wasn't greedy. The others had two”.

When asked if Tonioli was the behind the change in show rules, the 2023 Eurovision host quipped: “There aren't any rules, we used to have rules before Bruno joined the show”.

Britain’s Got Talent launches on ITV1 and ITVX Saturday, April 20 at 7:30pm