JULES O’Dwyer and collie Matisse have been crowned Britain’s Got Talent
champion 2015.
The dog trainer’s Charlie Chaplin-esque take on a cops and robbers skit earned
them rapturous applause from the audience — and tears from the judging
panel.
Set to the music from Dambusters, the canny mutt walked a tight rope, and
jumped on his hind legs.
“I’m so proud of my dogs,” Jules told Ant and Dec — as Matisse leapt
up for a kiss.
“I’m gonna have to buy a corgi for the Royal Variety Performance,”
she joked.
Runner-up was magician Jamie Raven, and third was Welsh choir Cor Glanaethwy,
who told Ant and Dec they hoped to tour the UK.
However, as is typical for BGT, the competition began before a single
contestant even hit the stage.
Simon had competition for “most chest skin on show” as he proudly
sauntered on to the stage flanked by Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon.
Amanda had threatened/promised to wear something that could warrant a nipslip
— an idea clearly taken on board by Alesha, too.
David tried to get in on the act by wearing a tuxedo with a deep collar — and
to be fair, if he’d gone shirtless, he would have wiped the floor with them.
First out was Entity Allstars, who brought a touch of Ancient Rome to the
somewhat safer climes of Wembley.
In their frantic music mix, they gave a nod to Alesha — who had made them her
Golden Buzzer act — by throwing in a few verses of Mis-Teeq, before ending
the routine by pretending to stab her with a huge spear.
“At the end when you came running up here I thought we were going to have
a slightly worse version of the egg incident,” quipped Simon, referring
to the 2013 final when he got egged by one of the contestants.
“We’ve never had breakdancing gladiators before,” added David.
Another first for BGT came in the next act, UDI.
The UV dance troupe, fuelled by a desire to help orphans in their native
Russia, put on a skit demonstrating the struggle between good and evil.
Simon recognised it as having parallels with his and David’s friendship — but
the Little Britain funnyman had a different opinion.
“I love the leather vests. I prefer you with the lights on,” he
cooed.
The Neales wanted to show all the dads and sons out there what they can
achieve if they work together.
Considering they made Simon cry last week, we can only assume that means that
anything is possible.
“I wasn’t crazy about the song choice. I don’t think it had the effect it
had on me a few days before. So it was good, but not as good as before,”
said Simon, dry-eyed.
Next was judges’ wildcards Boyband, who were more Power Rangers than One
Direction.
“I think that is your best performance so far!” shrieked Amanda,
impressed with their “athleticism”. “It had a huge impact, I
didn’t know you had more in you!”
Like The Neales before them, Simon thought he’d seen better.
He said: “This felt more predictable. I felt like you had lost your
personalities a bit.”
Sending shivers down the spines of babysitters everywhere was public wildcard
winner Jesse-Jane McParland, 9, who would have given The Bride in Kill Bill
a run for her money.
Her martial arts routine saw her take down ten ninjas and pretend to stab a
man through the heart.
Simon’s eyes lit up as he waxed lyrical about a TV show starring her and
several other high-kicking youngsters — on the other hand, David just wanted
a Walliams-sized outfit..
Impression Danny Posthill came on to rapturous applause.
His version of Dara O’Briain got the biggest laugh, after mimicking Keith
Lemon, Johnny Vegas and the man who narrates Big Brother.
Amanda praised his slick performance, telling him he’d “smashed it”.
“I was in bed til 3pm with a migraine,” he told Ant and Dec, who had
loved his takes on them.
“So was I,” replied Simon.
“We weren’t in the same bed,” shot back Danny, his quick comeback
coaxing a vicious scowl from the head judge.
He perked up for Calum Scott, beaming as he introduced him to the stage.
However, when he forgot the lyrics to Rihanna’s Diamonds just a verse in to
the song, a wave of awkwardness rippled through the audience.
“It fell apart in the first part of the song,” said Simon. “But
you picked it up in the second. I just hope people judge you on that.”
David added that he believes he can win, while Alesha told him that forgetting
words and pulling a blank is all part of the job.
“Nerves just show that you care,” added Amanda.
Welsh choir Cor Glanaethwy were heralded as the winners by Simon.
The 167-strong group were praised by Cowell as one of the best choirs the show
has ever seen, and he singled out their leader, Kevin, as a true star.
Amanda revealed herself to be a bit of a maths whizz as she announced that if
they proved the bookies right and went on to win, they’d get about £1,500
each.
She forgot to add in: “…and fond memories of their three return trips
to Wembley.”
Old Men Grooving set their final routine at a wedding — the perfect scene for
some dad dancing.
“Some people will look at that and go, ‘that was horrible,’ but people
like me will think it was amazing,” cheered Simon.
The other judges shared his enthusiasm, with David saying they’d be a perfect
fit for The Royal Variety performance.
Jamie Raven managed to calm his nerves for his final performance — and
publicly apologised to Alesha for calling her “Sir” on Wednesday
night.
He also handed her a box that unbeknown to her contained a lemon with a piece of
paper with her signature on.
“I am astounded,” said Amanda. “That felt to me like you could
be in Vegas.”
“Seriously you must be a wizard or something,” said Simon. “Magic
must be real.”
David was also full of praise. “There is nothing I like more than
catching out magicians, but that was absolutely flawless,” he gasped.
Simon’s opinion on who would win was turned on its head by Isaac Waddington.
After praising him for his vast improvement and control as he sang Billy
Joel’s She’s Always A Woman, the audience cheered in agreement.
“That was a really haunting performance,” added David.
The final performance came from Jules O’Dwyer and her loyal collie, Matisse.
In the VT ahead of his performance, the brown-and-white mutt was seen enjoying
a manicure and being fussed by fans.
But it was stricty business for their cops and robbers-themed performance —
who knew a dog could walk a tightrope?
David Walliams bawled when a three-legged Shetland Sheepdog ran out to give
the sausage-stealing story a moral edge.
“It’s your love for those dogs that makes you so enjoyable to watch,”
said animal lover Simon, who was also slightly emotional.
As well as homegrown talent, there were big performances from international
special guests.
Opera star Andrea Bocelli earned a standing ovation, while Michael Flatley’s
final TV performance no doubt inspired a whole new generation to take up
Irish dancing.