Tom Ball emerged victorious from Wednesday night’s semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent, going through to the final along with comedian Eva Abley.
Singer Tom blew the audience away with his powerful rendition of Conchita Wurst’s Rise Like A Phoenix, receiving a standing ovation from the judges.
Eva impressed the judges with her comedy routine with Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams all voting to put her through to the final over magician Keiichi Iwisaki.
Success: Tom Ball emerged victorious from Wednesday night’s semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent, going through to the final
Tom, who works as a teacher, was asked about the support he has received from his students and colleagues.
He said: ‘My kids have been absolutely amazing. I can’t thank my school enough for supporting me and everyone at home supporting me.’
After the two acts going through to the final were announced, head judge Simon Cowell revealed he may introduce wild cards into Sunday’s final.
He said: ‘I think Immi [Davis] should be standing here as well. I think we are going to have to bring in one or two wild cards, I really mean it.’
Finalist: Eva Abley impressed the judges with her comedy routine with Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams all voting to put her through to the final
The show was kicked off by dance troupe Les Sancho who received an ‘X’ buzzer from an unimpressed Simon after their Matrix-inspired performance.
Simon said: ‘I buzzed you. I loved your first audition because it was all about fun. Fun, personality, surprises. This was everything I’ve seen before with a dance group. I think on the semi-finals, you’ve got to be better than your first audition.’
David disagreed, saying: ‘I think the wonderful thing about his group is it always involves a surprise. I fell for you because I thought you were giving it everything.’
Simon then added: ‘I’m sorry, I don’t think it was as good. I really loved your first audition, I was so excited to see you tonight.’
Next up was singer Immi Davis who received a standing ovation from the judges for her powerhouse performance.
Simon asked Immi to repeat the chorus again after her performance, saying he struggled to hear her during the show.
He said: ‘I couldn’t really hear you because the track was so loud and there was so much going on.’ He later praised her as ‘fearless’.
Acrobatic performers The Freaks were the third act to take to the stage and received universal praise from the judges.
Dance: The show was kicked off by dance troupe Les Sancho who received an ‘X’ buzzer from an unimpressed Simon after their Matrix-inspired performance
Simon said: ‘This was everything I’ve seen before with a dance group. I think on the semi-finals, you’ve got to be better than your first audition’
Praise: Next up was singer Immi Davis who received a standing ovation from the judges for her powerhouse performance
Alesha Dixon told the group she hoped they made it to the final while Simon said their semi-final performance was a big improvement on their first audition.
Dane Bates Collective were up next and pulled at the judges’ heartstrings with their emotional dance.
Simon said: ‘I think, even though it was really heartbreaking, I think dance acts when you can tell a story, it’s so much easier for someone like me who knows nothing about dance to understand what you were trying to do. Everytime we’ve seen you, you’ve been absolutely brilliant.’
Comedian Eva Abley was up next and received resounding praise for her stand-up routine where she poked fun at Simon Cowell’s e-bike accidents.
Impressive: Acrobatic performers The Freaks were the third act to take to the stage and received universal praise from the judges
The teen joked: ‘I would love to buy n e-bike but then I’m thinking, if the richest man on TV can’t stay on one… what chance do I have? Maybe if I win BGT I would get us both a lesson and some stablisers for you Simon.’
David said Eva was his favourite act of the week, saying: ‘Your jokes were lovable, they were all zingers.’
Simon jokingly added: ‘Eva, I thought we were friends!’ before adding: ‘I absolutely love you.’
Next up were comedy trio The Dots who didn’t impress the judges with their slapstick humour.
Breathtaking: Dane Bates Collective were up next and pulled at the judges’ heartstrings with their emotional dance
The trio’s routine, like their audition, saw them pretend to ‘mess up’ their musical performance by mixing up their outfits and where they were meant to be on stage.
Unimpressed, David said: ‘It didn’t really hit as well tonight. I don’t know what it was, it was harder to follow tonight.’
Alesha said because of their audition, the judges ‘knew what to expect’ while Simon, who gave the group a buzzer, said: ‘I didn’t like it very much, sorry.’
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donelly’s golden buzzer, magician Keiichi Iwisaki.
Jokester: Comedian Eva Abley was up next and received resounding praise for her stand-up routine where she poked fun at Simon Cowell’s e-bike accidents
Lacklustre: Next up were comedy trio The Dots who didn’t impress the judges with their slapstick humour
Keiichi impressed the judges with his routine which saw him make several red balls appear in David’s hands and made a beer bottle appear behind a small cloth.
Amanda said: ‘That was so funny, so clever. I love all your sound effects. If we ever go into lockdown again, I want to be trapped in a room with you because the hours would fly by.’
Finishing the show was Tom Ball who performed an incredible rendition of Conchita Wurst’s Rise Like A Phoenix.
Alesha said: ‘You have this quiet inner confidence but with this beautiful humility. That was a remarkable vocal. You just blew the competition wide open.’
Amanda added: ‘This is what Britain’s Got Talent is all about, finding people like you who might not have been found.
Amanda ensured all eyes were on her with their showstopping look for Wednesday’s semi-final.
The presenter, 51, displayed her jaw-dropping figure as she donned a silver sheer dress with a plunging neckline.
Stunning: Amanda Holden ensured all eyes were on her as she donned a plunging silver gown for Britain’s Got Talent semi-final on Wednesday
The garment featured a bejewelled emerald detail along with a daring leg split and flowing gown.
The TV star, 51, added height to her frame with a pair of clear open-toed heels while she styled her blonde locks into a ponytail.
Fixinf the camera with a sultry stare, Amanda completed her look for the evening with a smokey eye.
Tuesday night’s semi-final saw impressionist Ben Nickless win the public vote, as he heads to the next stage alongside runner-up singers Flintz & T4ylor, who were voted for by David Walliams, Alesha and Simon Cowell.
Fashion: Amanda’s garment featured a bejewelled emerald detail along with a daring leg split and flowing gown
Amber And The Dancing Collies – who were also in the top three – were unfortunately sent home after performing a swashbuckling routine on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes chaos erupted after bawling children were turned away from the Hammersmith Apollo’s doors since the venue was too packed to accommodate them, it has been reported.
According to claims, ticketing company ApplauseStore purposefully allocated an overflow of tickets in case of no-shows.
With the semi-finals being held during the school half-term holidays, parents had the same idea of bringing their little ones along for a treat.
A source told The Sun: ‘There’s been loads of adverts and emails sent out urging people to sign up for the BGT live shows for the semis.
‘But loads and loads of people were left disappointed and it was utter mayhem.
Beauty: Amanda added height to her frame with a pair of clear open-toed heels while she styled her blonde locks into a ponytail
Some had been down there since 6am hoping to get a glimpse of their favourite acts, but were left gutted when they were told it was full up.’
With ApplauseStore’s small print refusing to guarantee entry to everybody who shows up, ‘crying children’ allegedly filled the street outside the venue.
A spokesman from ApplauseStore said: ‘As is standard practice, tickets are over-allocated to cover for the occasions when people fail to turn up for a free event.
‘Ticket numbers are carefully considered, and we make it very clear that ticket-holders will not always be guaranteed entry.
‘It’s very rare the audience are disappointed, and we’re pleased to have been able to seat over 2,700 people to enjoy the show last night.’
MailOnline has contacted ITV and ApplauseStore for comment.
Deserving: The second live show of Britain’s Got Talent saw impressionist Ben Nickless win the public vote, as he heads to the next stage
