Here’s What Terrified the Judges on Britain’s Got Talent

 

About Sal Valentinetti

Thousands of “Britain’s Got Talent” contestants have graced our screens over the last few years, with some of them becoming household names and achieving global stardom… and despite not winning, other acts will go down in history as being truly terrifying. Today, we’ll be remembering the creepiest moments on the show, and how the judges reacted to each and every one of them!

Judges Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon were left traumatized by a horrifying witch act in April 2022. The audience was visibly shocked as one of the two auditionees threw an apple at the female judges’ faces before it exploded and somehow turned into a cluster of maggots and cockroaches. Subsequently, Alesha ran off set and refused to return until the bugs were removed, shouting: “I’m socially distancing from the cockroaches!”

Of the unforgettable act, Amanda later said in the interview: “’I screamed the place down during the start of her act, it was just so freaky… This apple suddenly smashed and out poured all these maggots and cockroaches all over the desk, you have to watch it to believe it.” Needless to say, the witches didn’t win the contest, which is perhaps for the best.

Another unforgettable act was The Haunting, which made it to the semi-finals of the show’s thirteenth season. The act was introduced by a woman named Elizabeth, who confidently told the judges and audience: “I want to show you something special, and to make the impossible possible.” Elizabeth’s audition began with the lights dimming and the screen behind her turning off. Elizabeth then spoke about ghosts and asked Amanda to flick through a journal containing photos of dead people.

When Elizabeth somehow turned into one of the women displayed in the photos, the judges were impressed enough to put her through to the next stage of the competition. During the semifinals, Elizabeth received glowing praise from Simon Cowell, who said: “Compared to everyone else so far, this is by far the most interesting act we’ve seen by a mile.” Ultimately, Elizabeth made it to the Judges’ Vote stage of the competition, before being voted off by Alesha.

Elizabeth’s act did stir up some controversy during her time on the show, as parents complained that their young children were having nightmares about The Haunting. During Elizabeth’s semi-finals performance, Amanda also swore despite the program airing before the watershed. Although many people raved over Elizabeth’s creativity and ability to create a spooky atmosphere, others deemed the magic act as basic, calling it “smoke and mirrors”.

Next up is a truly scary act that had the judges and audience worried for the auditionee’s safety. Despite not being conventionally spooky, many “Britain’s Got Talent” hopefuls have quite literally risked their lives for fifteen minutes of fame – which is pretty terrifying when you think about it.

In season 13, escapologist Jonathan Goodwin stunned the judges by copying Houdini’s famous straitjacket trick with a twist: not only would he try to escape from a straitjacket, but he’d be doing so while hanging upside-down from a rope. Even for Jonathan, who began performing stunts at just seven years old, it was an ambitious challenge which he’d be putting his own twist on.

While many stunt performers like to add a bit of razzle-dazzle to the straitjacket act by setting the rope on fire, Jonathan took things a step further by having his assistants cover him in fuel and bring a flame onto the stage which immediately engulfed him. Jonathan miraculously escaped the straitjacket with minimal effort, and was immediately buzzed through to the next stage of the competition, with Simon declaring: “It was actually terrifying. You are absolutely nuts.”

And the kid lives to fight another day!
America, thank you. I love you all #SalTheVoice #agtresults #agt pic.twitter.com/8f3LjIcMxa

— Sal Valentinetti (@SalTheVoice) August 4, 2016

During the semi-finals, Jonathan wowed the crowds with his “Blindfold Chicken” act and was voted by the public to perform in the finals. The Pembrokeshire native’s last performance in the show saw him be restrained in an empty container which slowly filled up with gravel as he picked his way out with a bobby pin before being buried alive. Amanda described the daredevil as “the next David Blaine”.

As the finals were broadcast live, a commercial break was necessary to clear all the gravel off the stage before the next acts came through. Sadly, Jonathan placed eighth overall despite being a firm fan favorite – but that didn’t stop him from trying his luck in “America’s Got Talent: Extreme” two years later.

In October 2021, Jonathan made news after a performance went horribly wrong and he was stuck between two cars that exploded into a fireball on stage. An insider explained that during the risky stunt, Jonathan was suspended 70 feet in the air in a straitjacket, hanging by his feet from a wire. If that wasn’t precarious enough, two cars were suspended on either side of Jonathan and swinging back and forth.

The aim of the stunt was for Jonathan to free himself from the straitjacket, fall onto an air mattress, and avoid being hit by the swinging cars. But when the cars impacted and exploded, a huge fireball erupted, and Jonathan hit his head after falling to the ground. The cast and crew members panicked, believing that the stunt performer had died in front of them, and the news made international headlines as fans tried to figure out what condition the reality TV contestant was in.

Anonymous sources confirmed that Jonathan was immediately airlifted to hospital and taken to surgery. Shortly afterwards, he was placed in the trauma unit and remained in an unconscious and unresponsive state for an undisclosed period. Unfortunately for Jonathan, his fiancée, and daughter, he broke both shoulderblades, shattered both his legs, and lost a kidney in the accident – and has been paralyzed from the waist down and bound to a wheelchair ever since.

Although the accident has impacted Jonathan’s life in unimaginable ways, he hasn’t lost his sense of humor, and even said at the time that he was looking forward to being a “roll model”. At the very least, his story has served as a cautionary tale for hundreds of stunt performers across the world.

With sixteen seasons and counting, “Britain’s Got Talent” is one of the most popular shows in the UK despite a minor ratings slump. The show is also available to watch online and on various streaming platforms.

All we can say is – ‘Try and beat that!’