Britain’s Got Talent viewers reacted to impressionist Will Burns’ latest performance during the live semi-final of the ITV show tonight amid praise from judges like Amanda Holden
Fans of Britain’s Got Talent suggested earlier tonight that they had spotted a problem with impressionist Will Burns’ performance in his semi-final. He was among the acts who returned to the stage this weekend for a spot in the final.
The second semi-final of the ITV’s new series was broadcast live from the Eventim Apollo in London this evening. Judges Simon Cowell, 65, Amanda Holden, 54, Alesha Dixon, 46, and Bruno Tonioli, 69, were reintroduced to a number of acts who had made it through to this stage of the contest.
Will, 24 – who received a golden buzzer from Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly earlier in the series, which sent him through to the semi-finals – was back with more impressions of various celebrities. He impersonated the likes of Paddy McGuinness, Alan Carr and Billy Connolly tonight.
During the routine, a photo of each celebrity that Will was impersonating, or a photo showing the logo of a show that they were associated with, was shown on a screen behind him. Some viewers however felt that it wasn’t a good sign.
One person wrote on X: “Showing a big picture showing who you are trying to impersonate (badly) is not a good sign.” Another fan said: “The whole point of impressions is not to have to show who they are in the background.”
A third viewer commented on the platform: “Now I appreciate it takes courage to be a comedian. Making people laugh is one of the hardest acts. But…This was poor and the jokes were unfunny. Also if you have to show a picture of the person you’re impersonating it’s a poor impression.”
Someone else wrote: “If you need f***ing great pictures of who you’re impersonating behind you – you’re not really that good mate…” Another said: “Good impresionists never reveal the identity of the celebrities they’re impersonating.”
Others suggested that Will wasn’t alone in showing photos of the celebrities though. One fan said: “Why do impressionists put pictures of who they’re doing on a screen. We should know if you’re any good.” Another said: “Why do impressionists always show who they are doing before they do it? If they are that good we would be able to guess.”
Despite criticism on social media, the act also received praise. One person wrote: “Wow Will the impressions were absolutely brilliant just fantastic great job will loved it.” Another said: “The Brynn [from Gavin and Stacey] impression is so good.”
The BGT judges had much praise for Will following the performance on tonight’s semi-final. Bruno told the impressionist: “I know you were a bit nervous but you nailed it.” He added: “You have the talent. You’re a great impressionist. You can deliver your lines. You have great timing.”
Whilst Alesha said in her feedback: “Here you are shining on stage. The material was fantastic. The impersonations were brilliant. One of the hardest things to do on this stage is keep the audience engaged and entertained and laughing throughout. It was brilliantly put together.”
Amanda told Will: “It’s just one seamless monologue. I’ve never seen it done like that before. […] I’ve never seen anything where the voices go into other voices. I think you’re a delight!” She added: “I would love, love, love to see you in the final.”
Simon said: “You just nailed it by the way. […] You absolutely took your three minutes and I don’t think you could have done any more. That was seriously, seriously good!”
Britain’s Got Talent continues next Saturday from 7pm on ITV, STV, ITVX and STV Player.
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