Britain’s Got Talent winner 2026: The Hawkstone Farmers Choir are crowned champion as they are watched on by creator Jeremy Clarkson during ‘closest ever’ live final but – but ITV viewers aren’t all happy

Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone Farmers Choir were crowned Britain’s Got Talent champions in Saturday’s live grand final.

They competed against Anastasiia & Salsa, Celestial, Fabian Fox, Liwei Yang, Matty Juniosa, Rafferty Coope, Sadeck Berrabah & LMA, Sonny Green and Ted Hill for the viewers’ votes.

Head judge Simon Cowell, 66, branded this year’s final the ‘closest ever’ and went on to tell each show they were the ‘best contestants of the night’ before admitting after the lines closed: ‘I have no idea who’s going to win.’

The music mogul joined Amanda Holden, 55, Alesha Dixon, 47, and KSI, 32, on the panel, but it was the fans at home who chose the choir as the ultimate winners, taking home £250,000 and the chance to perform at the Royal Variety performance.

Top Gear presenter and Prime Video star Jeremy, 65, who financed and created the choir, was also in the audience and could be seen cheering wildly after the win.

Despite the choir’s push for success, some ITV viewers were still not happy and claimed ITV had given “free publicity” to Jeremy, who they had appointed to present Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on the channel, and branded the result a “correction”.

Top Gear presenter and Prime Video star Jeremy, 65, who financed and created the choir, was also in the audience and could be seen cheering wildly after the win.

The choir, currently led by farmers Simon Gwilliam and Lizzy Dean, was first formed by TV’s Jeremy Clarkson after he sought out singing farm workers to feature in an advert for the Hawkstone beer range.

When they went to Others saw that the correction was made as soon as Jeremy Clarkson was shown in the audience’: ‘I always preferred Chris Tarrant’: ‘I AM ABSOLUTELY SICK THAT HAWKSTONE FARMERS’ CHOIR GOT TALENT IN ENGLAND THE VOTES ARE FRAUDLED. WHAT A CORRECTION’.

‘It’s true that he was the worst winner in the worst year’: ‘What a terrible ending to this #BritainsGotTalent series but then again it’s no surprise that the whole series was terrible and they only won thanks to the #JeremyClarkson effect.’

Jeremy brought the 32-member group together in 2024 and they are also working to raise awareness within the farming community and funds for mental health charities.

Following their win, which saw them perform an original piece, the choir said: ‘We’re the first choir to win Britain’s Got Talent, this is for all farmers, it’s not a taboo, if you’re not good, speak up, this is for farmers!’

Simon delivered a hard blow to Jeremy Clarkson when the Hawkstone Farmers Choir performed in the semi-final last weekend.

They wowed fans by singing Bastille’s Pompeii and, thanks to the public vote, qualified for this weekend’s highly anticipated finale.

They competed against Anastasiia & Salsa, Celestial, Fabian Fox, Liwei Yang, Matty Juniosa, Rafferty Coope, Sadeck Berrabah & LMA, Sonny Green and Ted Hill for the viewers’ votes.

Despite the storm of success for the chorus, some ITV viewers were still not happy and claimed ITV were simply giving ‘free publicity’ to Jeremy, who they hired

Jeremy brought the 32-member group together in 2024 and they are also trying to raise awareness within the farming community and raise funds for mental health charities.

They were furious when they went to X: ‘How’s all this free Clarkson promotion going on ITV?’: ‘I bet tomorrow this will be the least watched #BGT final ever

But that didn’t stop Simon from making up his mind about the chorus, and he took the opportunity to cheekily taunt Jeremy in the process.

After their semi-final performance, Simon told the choir: ‘You’re not a professional choir, but I love what you stand for.

‘Seeing Jeremy Clarkson’s smug face can be quite annoying, that’s the only downside. He’s a friend of mine.”

Earlier in Saturday’s show, Simon was appalled by the performance of competitive death-defyer Liwei Yang.

The fire juggler left the panel and viewers on the edge of their seats as she accompanied her husband to swing huge fiery ropes above her head before balancing a smoldering table on its feet.

Liwei opened the show in incredible fashion after receiving the Golden Buzzer award from KSI in the semi-finals.

And while KSI branded it a ‘BGT winning performance’, a horrified Simon cried out: ‘I thought you were on fire!’.

While fans said: ‘Liwei Yang is amazing! It’s okay if she wins, she deserves it’: ‘Liwei Yang, oh my god what an opening, the first 5 seconds have me won over already’: ‘The talent it takes to do what Liwei Yang and her husband did Well done both I bet it was overlooked by a singer’.

Earlier in Saturday’s show, Simon was left appalled by contestant’s death-defying performance as Liwei Yang.

The fire juggler left the panel and audience on the edge of their seats as he swung huge fiery ropes above his head before balancing a smoldering table on its feet

Elsewhere, the choir released an album and planned to donate the money to mental health charity Shout.

It was released ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week in May, and the choir donated all proceeds from its records directly to Shout to support Farmers’ mental health.

The record was named The Banned One after a Hawkstone advert was banned for ‘not complying’ with broadcast standards.

Victoria Hornby, managing director of Shout, said: ‘Hawkstone Farmers Choir has given an incredible voice to the mental health issues faced by many in the farming community.

‘We are extremely grateful to be a charity partner of this project. The funds raised from this vinyl will be vital, allowing us to train more volunteers and support anyone struggling in the farming community. It will save lives.’

Banned One is now available to purchase from the Hawkstone website for £7.50.

Jeremy previously shared that he was ‘overjoyed’ as he received praise from the ‘fantastic’ chorus of farmers from across the UK.

Speaking to fans on social media, Jeremy said: ‘I watched Britain’s Got Talent for the first time tonight because the Hawkstone choir were on stage.

‘They were truly amazing. ‘These guys are all farmers and they work incredibly hard for truly incredibly small rewards, and seeing them all on that stage with all the love in the room made my heart sing.’

She admitted that she watched the auditions while suppressing her emotions: ‘I’ve actually recovered and thank you Amanda Holden for pressing the Golden Buzzer.

‘It shows that people quite like the farmers and they do a very, very good, very good job, y’all. I’m a very happy man tonight because the chorus is amazing. That’s it.”