Judges in turmoil as Craig Ball and Jasmine Elcock win last two places in Britain's Got Talent final 2016
"Don’t hate me for this please," Simon Cowell pleads as Lucy and Trip Hazard the dog just miss out on place in Saturday's grand final
Thursday night's final semi-final proved to be the toughest yet for the judges as they struggled to decide which act to put through to Saturday's final.
There were shocks among the early results as the seemingly safe Presentation School Choir were sent home in fourth place and the Togni Brothers in fifth, despite recovering from a dramatic mid-performance fall.
Impressionist Craig Ball took the win, which was somewhat of a surprise. While popular, there were several acts who seemed more likely to take the top spot, including Ant and Dec's Golden Buzzer Jasmine Elcock, who then lined-up alongside Lucy and her dancing dog Trip Hazard for the judges to decide.
Now, this is Britain's Got Talent and it ruddy well loves a dog act. Indeed, David Walliams chose to back the pooch saying he'd fallen in love with the dog on the show tonight. However, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell all chose to give their vote to 14-year-old singer Jasmine.
But it wasn't without difficulty. Cowell barely spoke as the crowd screamed at him for both of the acts.
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"Thank god we have a public Wildcard because… OK the act, and don’t hate me for this please," he pleaded, "the act I’m going to send through to the final, because this person did something much better than the first audition, I'm going to award last place to Jasmine."
"Well done, I'm very proud of you," a chuffed Ant told his stunned Golden Buzzer, who'd already had him close to tears earlier in the evening. Lucy said she "understood" saying she was aware it was a "very difficult decision".
As Cowell pointed out though, Lucy and Trip are now in the running to be voted this year's public Wildcard. Voting is only open until 11pm tonight, with all the acts who placed third in this year's semi-final eligible.
Craig Ball and Jasmine Elcock join the eight other acts who've already earned a guaranteed spot in this year's final. The judges will also add a Wildcard - they are able to choose from all of the eliminated semi-finalists.
See the Britain's Got Talent final Saturday from 7:30pm on ITV
