KSI is the best thing to happen to Britain’s Got Talent since Susan Boyle

Britain's Got Talent sinks to a surreal new low on its return: a parkour dog receiving rapturous applause from the studio audience and three of its four judges.

Simon Cowell is thrilled - he can't believe his luck. His eyes light up as if he’s discovered the next Ashleigh and Pudsey, the Britain's Got Talent-winning dog-and-owner duo who bizarrely went on to have their own film that absolutely no one asked for.

Thankfully, there's a new face on the judging panel to give Simon, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon a much-needed reality check: KSI.

Despite the deafening cheers from the crowd, KSI isn't exactly impressed, and he's right! I've long believed nothing gives me "the ick" more than parkour - until I saw it performed by a dog… badly.

I was fully prepared to loathe KSI on Britain's Got Talent; I can't say I've followed his career with much interest. I know he was one of the first household names to emerge from YouTube and that he used his fortune to launch a rap career (much to the delight of my nephew, who tortures me with his tunes).

I've struggled to see what positive cultural impact KSI has had on the millions of fans who hang on his every word. I've dismissed him as a chancer, willing to grab any pile of cash within reach. The company he keeps is enough to ring alarm bells: in 2022 he co-launched the Prime energy drink with Logan Paul. The drink has since been banned in some schools over concerns about its high caffeine levels and the disruptive hype after children queued around the block to buy it.

KSI has done little, until now, to convince me he's a positive role model for future generations. But credit where it's due: he's the best thing to happen to Britain's Got Talent since Susan Boyle.

Britain's Got Talent's longevity is nothing to sneer at, it still pulls in millions of viewers and remains an absolute juggernaut for ITV, long after so many reality shows have come and gone. 18 years ago, no one would have believed BGT could outlive The X Factor - but here we are. It’s now just a year away from turning 20 without even a murmur of axe rumours.

Still, culturally, it has become increasingly irrelevant. How many people on the street could name the last three winners? In my personal orbit: none. Beyond that, I can't imagine it's anything like the number who still remember Paul Potts, Diversity or George Sampson.

KSI’s appointment is a sign of the times - and the show desperately needed to move with them. Poaching a Strictly Come Dancing judge didn’t cut the mustard, but recruiting KSI is a genuine curveball - one I had little faith in, but which undeniably works.

One of my biggest gripes with Britain’s Got Talent is that it rarely feels authentic - even less so since the days when it produced genuine stars. The acts are often tried and tested across other Got Talent formats around the world before being shipped in to dazzle British viewers, and it panders so hard to flag-loving patriots that fill me with dread - the opening episode ends with an unimaginative drone show celebrating the "best of Britain" which, according to the act, is King Charles, Big Ben and the Union Jack.

KSI, by contrast, is a breath of fresh air.

He cuts through the pretence that we should all be awestruck by a dog jumping off a wall - like most dogs do. He’s Simon Cowell back when Cowell was unapologetically honest and compelling television, albeit without the catalogue of controversies that eventually made that persona untenable.

Cowell proved he knew how to find a star 20 years ago. Across Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor, his acts were rarely absent from the top of the charts, even making dents at the box office. In 2026, though, it’s less convincing that he still has the Midas touch. His new boyband, December 10 - tipped to be the next One Direction - debuted at number 72 on the Official UK Singles Chart despite riding the momentum of their own Netflix series and enormous financial backing.

The landscape of music and pop culture is unrecognisable from Cowell's heyday. Gen Z is alien territory for him and every judge that’s sat beside him on Britain’s Got Talent for the last two decades. KSI, meanwhile, has the under-25s in the palm of his hand - and it shows. He instinctively knows what young audiences will lap up and what simply isn’t as impressive as Cowell thinks it is.

There are genuinely exciting moments in Britain's Got Talent's return. A key part of its endurance is its knack for celebrating the weird, the wonderful and, every now and again, unbelievable feats of bravery. One woman juggles a flaming table with her feet; a wheelchair user performs an astonishing aerial skills routine that wouldn’t be amiss in Cirque du Soleil and a mind-reading magician could give Derren Brown a run for his money.

Ultimately, Britain’s Got Talent endures for two reasons: the talent can be astonishing, and the format has barely been tampered with beyond the introduction of the Golden Buzzer.

It’s perfect family viewing - but it has never felt especially forward-thinking.

David Walliams never felt like a natural fit. He brought little that wasn’t already covered by Amanda, Alesha or Simon - and, crucially, he lacked sincerity. KSI, to my surprise, is dripping in it.

He is dragging Britain’s Got Talent into 2026 in a way few stars who fit the BGT brief ever could. If anyone thought the show’s days were numbered, it suddenly feels as though it may just be beginning its most exciting era in years.

Britain's Got Talent returns on Saturday 21 February at 7pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.