Britain’s Got Talent Winners: From Paul Potts to a Choir of Farmers: Every Champion Since 2007

No one would have predicted that in 2007, when Paul Potts took the crown in the inaugural series, that in nineteen series’ time, the winner would be a choir of farmers assembled by Jeremy Clarkson. The Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir, the winners of series 19 in 2026, are the first group of farmers to win the ITV crown.

Such winners join the ranks of Britain’s Got Talent winners so far, including opera singers, street dancers, dogs, magicians and a stand-up comic who performs via voice synthesiser. Here is the list in full, what it reveals about the type of act that wins, and how the latest winners achieved victory.

Quick facts

Show	Britain’s Got Talent, on ITV
First aired	2007
Hosts	Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly
Completed series	19, through 2026
Prize	£250,000 and a slot at the Royal Variety Performance
Latest winner	The Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir (2026)

The 2026 winners: a choir nobody expected

The last was on Saturday 30 May 2026. Clarkson, 66, sat among the audience and was visibly emotional while clapping along with the choir. When the results were announced, choir member Katryna Shell told the presenters the win was “for the farmers”.

The origins are less lofty than the title indicates. The choir was formed as part of an ad campaign for the brewery owned by Clarkson, based in the Cotswolds, which recruited dozens of farmers following a casting call. Several national articles have called it a ‘charity’ set up to help farmers’ mental health, and members say it developed into one. One member said the choir ‘brought us closer and provided us with comfort’.

They performed their audition at the Birmingham Hippodrome on 3 October 2025, but viewers did not see it until 21 March. This was a cover of the song One Day Like This by Elbow, which scored Amanda Holden’s Golden Buzzer, and a cover of the song Pompeii by Bastille, which qualified them for the final. They only had two rehearsals before the audition.

Ending on a high-risk note in the final, they sang a self-penned song, This Is Home, and Simon Cowell confessed he thought the risk hadn’t been worth it – until he praised their performance. KSI said he would “definitely” add the song to his playlist.

The rest of the top five was a strange combination. Drone display team Celestial were second, and dog act Anastasiia and Salsa third. Winchesterton teen magician and musician Rafferty Coope was fifth. The couple’s winnings and Royal Variety appearance are guaranteed, but they have gone on to book other gigs. They are set to perform in the main ring at the Royal Welsh Show on 20 July 2026.

Every Britain’s Got Talent winner, 2007 to 2026

There was no 2021 series, so the list jumps from 2020 to 2022.

2007	1	Paul Potts	Opera singer
2008	2	George Sampson	Street dancer
2009	3	Diversity	Dance troupe
2010	4	Spelbound	Gymnastics troupe
2011	5	Jai McDowall	Singer
2012	6	Ashleigh and Pudsey	Dog act
2013	7	Attraction	Shadow theatre group
2014	8	Collabro	Classical singing group
2015	9	Jules O’Dwyer & Matisse	Dog act
2016	10	Richard Jones	Magician
2017	11	Tokio Myers	Pianist
2018	12	Lost Voice Guy	Comedian
2019	13	Colin Thackery	Singer
2020	14	Jon Courtenay	Comic singer and pianist
2022	15	Axel Blake	Comedian
2023	16	Viggo Venn	Comedian
2024	17	Sydnie Christmas	Singer
2025	18	Harry Moulding	Magician
2026	19	Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir	Choir

What kind of act actually wins?

Singers take the top spot with 5 solo or group vocal winners: Paul Potts, Jai McDowall, Collabro, Colin Thackery and Sydnie Christmas. And then there is the Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir if you want to include a choir as well – 6 winners.

Comedy has been the unsung saga of recent years. Lost Voice Guy, Jon Courtenay, Axel Blake and Viggo Venn won four of the last eight series before the choir’s victory, which was a sizeable haul for a category that wasn’t represented among the early winners.

Dance and variety acts took the early lead. George Sampson, Diversity, Spelbound and Attraction won four of the first seven series. Dogs have won on two occasions, magicians twice and a pianist once.

It’s not an algorithm, though. Pre-preferreds don’t always follow it. Prior to the 2026 final, one bookmaker had ranked Sonny Green as 10/3 favourite after the semi-final elimination of Antigravity. Neither was amongst the top three. Possibly a competitive rank, a narrative more accessible to audiences, and a solid performance in the final are more important than type.

The wins that changed the show’s story

A few winners stand out for what they changed or achieved.

Lost Voice Guy (2018). Lee Ridley, from Newcastle, has cerebral palsy and uses a voice synthesizer for his stand-up. He beat musical comedian Robert White and singer Donchez Dacres, and was the first comedian ever to win.

Ashleigh and Pudsey (2012). This dog act took the biggest prize pot in the show’s history, £500,000. That sum applied to series 6 only, after £100,000 in the first five series. The prize has been £250,000 since.

Tokio Myers (2017). The pianist’s win had a real chart afterlife. His album Our Generation reached number 4.

Diversity (2009). The dance troupe won the series in which Susan Boyle finished second, one of the most talked-about runner-up spots in the show’s history.

Harry Moulding (2025). The magician was sent through to the final by KSI’s Live Show Golden Buzzer, a feature that was new that year, and went on to win.

Why the 2026 win matters

The most unlikely win. There is an argument that the choir’s win may have been the most unlikely in the show’s history. It was a bunch of amateur singers, made up of dozens of farmers, former farmers, and people connected to farming, from all across the country, who were put together for an advert. One of the people interviewed afterwards said they were unlikely to be the show’s target audience, and half the people didn’t know who the judges were.

That was clearly the response from the public vote. Whether you attribute it to Clarkson’s profile, farmer empathy, or just a good song sung well is open to debate. This is the outcome, however.

The short version

Compare all the winners of Britain’s Got Talent from 2007 to 2026. When we look at winners from Britain’s Got Talent from 2007 to 2026, it seems that there have been three types of winners, with a fourth emerging in 2026. Some have been singers, others have been comedians, and finally the choir in 2026. If there is a pattern, then the next winner will be a surprise to us all.

Celeb Writes