ITV has been dealt a huge blow as one of its major shows drew in its lowest ever figures for a finale, with Britain’s Got Talent’s conclusion securing the unwanted record over the weekend.
The competition series ended on Sunday, with magician Harry Moulding voted the winner of the 18th series of the show.
The 24-year-old from Blackpool scooped the £250,000 prize money and will appear in this year’s Royal Variety Performance in front of King Charles III.
However, it’s believed only 4.1 million viewers tuned in to watch the winner being crowned, giving the series finale the lowest ratings since its debut back in 2007.
The figures are a staggering one million views down from last year’s finale. However, the numbers don’t include those who streamed the final on ITVX or watched it later.
Meanwhile, over on the BBC, Doctor Who’s figures saw a big increase, with its finale drawing in 2.2 million, making it the second-watched show of the day.
Britain’s Got Talent’s finale numbers have seen a steep decline since the show’s early years, with the 2007 conclusion attracting an impressive 11 million viewers, which increased the following year by one million.
The biggest audience came in 2009 with a staggering 16.3 million views. The milestone year was the series Susan Boyle and dance group Diversity went head-to-head, with Diversity taking the winning title and Boyle coming in second place.
The last time the show saw double figures at the end of the series was in 2015, with ratings of 11.3 million.
Since then, viewership has steadily dropped. 2016’s ratings fell to 8.5 million, with a similar number for the next three years and a further decline from 2020.
When the magician was crowned the 2025 winner on Sunday, he leapt up and down in celebration, screaming at hosts Ant and Dec.
“I can’t believe what is going on,” he admitted, adding: “Thank you, everyone so much, I genuinely feel like everyone has been behind me. This has been the most incredible journey.”
He went up against dance troupe The Blackouts, who took their runner-up title graciously, stating Moulding’s victory was “well deserved”.
Moulding’s routine started with a card trick, impressing viewers when he correctly pulled out all the cards each of the judges had selected.
A pre-recorded clip showed the magician skydiving as he made the accurate prediction.
Judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli were stunned by his performance and applauded the act once again.
The winner will now receive the life-changing sum of money as well as the prestigious spot on the variety show later in the year.
Despite the win, some fans of the show complained the result had been “a fix”.
One fuming fan wrote on social media: “All planned tricks, not talent”, while another added: “He was so bad. So boring, the exact same as every other magician. Blackouts robbed.”
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A third complained: “The fake magician won! What a waste of time watching BGT. So fixed! RIP not wasting my precious time on such s*** programs anymore!”
Another fumed: “Terrible! It was all pretty planned all the videos he did weren’t clever or magic at all! Blackouts should’ve won easily, that’s real talent!” (sic)
GB News has contacted ITV for a comment on the show’s figures.
