Britain's Got Talent (series 2)
The second series of Britain's Got Talent, a British talent competition series, began broadcasting in the UK during 2008, from 12 April to 31 May on ITV. Following the success of its first series, ITV commissioned the programme for additional episodes, which allowed production staff to increase the number of auditions and semi-finals that the competition incorporated, and thus subsequently increase the number of participants that secured a place in the final. Auditions that were filmed took place across a larger variety of cities across the United Kingdom. Both the judges from the first series - Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan - and the hosts Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, returned for the second series, along with Stephen Mulhern returning to front the second series of Britain's Got More Talent on ITV 2.
The second series was won by street dancer George Sampson, with dance duo Signature finishing in second place, and singer Andrew Johnston placing third. During its broadcast, the series proved to be a greater ratings success, averaging 10.2 million viewers. ITV was forced to defend the programme during its second series, after viewers criticised the involvement of a professional group in the contest.
Series overview
Following open auditions held the previous year, the Judge's Auditions took place early in 2008, within London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Blackpool. With the success of the previous series, the production team decided to expand the show's filming schedule to include more episodes. This led to the addition of two more episodes for auditions and two more live episodes for semi-finals, in turn leading to a direct increase in the number of semi-finalists that the judges could move beyond the auditions stage of the competition. Both the judges and the presenters who took part in the first series agreed to return for the second series, leading to no significant changes in the panel or hosts.Of the participants that took part, only forty made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals, with eight appearing in each one, and ten of these acts making it into the live final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:
| Participant | Age | Genre | Act | From | Semi-Final | Result |
| Andrew Johnston | 13 | Singing | Boy Soprano | Carlisle, Cumbria | 2 | ' |
| Andrew Muir | 24 | Singing | Singer | Fauldhouse, West Lothian | 4 | ' |
| Anya Sparks | 42 | Dance | Dancer | London | 5 | |
| Bang On | 34, 27 | Music | Urban Percussionists | Hounslow, London | 2 | |
| Boogie Babes | 8–12 | Dance | Dance Troupe | Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria | 4 | |
| Boogie Wonderland | 12–21 | Dance | Dance Troupe | Liverpool | 1 | |
| Caburlesque | 22-26 | Dance | Cabaret & Burlesque Group | London | 5 | |
| Charlie Green | 10 | Singing | Singer | Worcestershire | 3 | |
| Charlie Wernham | 13 | Comedy | Stand-up Comedian | Essex | 4 | |
| Cheeky Monkeys | 8, 9 | Dance | Junior Dance Duo | Burnley, Lancashire | 2 | ' |
| Craig Harper | 35 | Singing / Comedy | Singer & Impressionist | Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire | 5 | |
| Dean Wilson | 18 | Singing | Musical Theatre Performer | Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire | 1 | |
| Deans of Magic | 46, 38 | Magic | Erotic Magicians | Daventry, Northamptonshire | 3 | |
| Diva Las Vegas | 20-48 | Dance | Cabaret Dance Group | Runcorn, Cheshire | 5 | |
| Escala | 23–26 | Music | Electric String Quartet | London | 5 | ' |
| Faryl Smith | 12 | Singing | Classical Singer | Kettering, Northamptonshire | 4 | ' |
| Flava | 17–28 | Dance | Hip-hop Dance Group | Cornwall | 2 | |
| George Sampson | 14 | Dance | Breakdancer | Warrington, Cheshire | 3 | ' |
| Harlequin Stage School | 8–13 | Dance | Dance Troupe | Worcester, Worcestershire | 4 | |
| Hoop La La | 22, 23, 24 | Dance / Variety | Hula Hoopers | Inverness | 3 | |
| Iona Luvsandorj | 27 | Variety | Contortionist | London | 2 | |
| Irresistible | 23, 21, 23 | Singing | Pop Group | Tyne & Wear | 3 | |
| James Stone | 52 | Singing | Singer | Rhyl, Denbighshire | 4 | |
| Jeremy Lynch | 20 | Variety | Football Freestyler | Essex | 4 | |
| Kate And Gin | 16, 6 | Animals / Dance | Musical Canine Freestyle | Norbury, Cheshire | 1 | ' |
| Kay And Harvey | 56, 71 | Singing / Music | Opera Singer & Keyboardist Duo | Bristol | 2 | |
| Madonna Decena | 32 | Singing | Singer | Manchester | 5 | |
| Mandy Ellen Dancers | 10–24 | Dance | Dance Troupe | Maidstone, Kent | 2 | |
| Mary Halford March | 6–9 | Dance | Dance Troupe | Liverpool | 3 | |
| Michael Machell | 57 | Music | Electric Keyboardist | Hastings, East Sussex | 1 | |
| Nemesis | 18–22 | Dance | Dance Group | Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire | 5 | ' |
| Per Diem | 24, 23 | Singing / Music | Guitarist & Singer Duo | Liverpool | 5 | |
| Phil Blackmore | 34 | Danger / Variety | Balancer & Juggler | London | 1 | |
| Sauris Nandi | 64 | Magic | Illusionist | London | 2 | |
| Signature | 29, 34 | Dance | Michael Jackson & Bhangra Dance Duo | London | 1 | ' |
| Sophie Mei | 20 | Dance / Variety | Belly Dancer | Sheffield | 1 | |
| Strike | 22, 19 | Variety | Martial Artists | Sheffield | 3 | ' |
| Tracy Lee Collins | 44 | Singing | Drag act | Leicester, Leicestershire | 1 | |
| Urban Gypsies | 35–50 | Dance | Belly-dancing Troupe | Blackpool | 3 | |
| Vizage | 34, 30 | Magic / Singing | Quick-change Artists & Singers | Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire | 4 |
- Ages denoted in this column pertain a participant age in their final performance for this series.
- The latter value pertains to the age of the dog, as disclosed by its owner.
Semi-final summary
Semi-final 1 (26 May)
Semi-final 2 (27 May)
Semi-final 3 (28 May)
Semi-final 4 (29 May)
Semi-final 5 (30 May)
Final (31 May)
| Finalist | Order | Act | Result |
| Cheeky Monkeys | 1 | Junior Dance Duo | Finalist |
| Andrew Muir | 2 | Singer | Finalist |
| Kate and Gin | 3 | Musical Canine Freestyle | Finalist |
| Nemesis | 4 | Dance Troupe | Finalist |
| Strike | 5 | Martial Artists | Finalist |
| Andrew Johnston | 6 | Boy Soprano | 3rd |
| George Sampson | 7 | Breakdancer | 1st |
| Faryl Smith | 8 | Classical Singer | Finalist |
| Escala | 9 | Electric String Quartet | Finalist |
| Signature | 10 | Michael Jackson & Bhangra Dancer Duo | 2nd |
- The results did not declare any other position than that of the winner, 2nd place, and 3rd place.
Ratings
| Episode | Date | Official ITV1 rating | Weekly rank | Share |
| Auditions 1 | 12 April | 9.44 | 6 | 37.0% |
| Auditions 2 | 19 April | 10.96 | 1 | 43.3% |
| Auditions 3 | 26 April | 9.86 | 3 | 41.3% |
| Auditions 4 | 3 May | 9.12 | 5 | 39.1% |
| Auditions 5 | 10 May | 8.17 | 6 | 37.9% |
| Auditions 6 | 17 May | 9.11 | 2 | 37.5% |
| Auditions 7 | 24 May | 8.27 | 5 | 37.2% |
| Semi-final 1 | 26 May | 11.33 | 4 | 42.0% |
| Semi-final 2 | 27 May | 9.29 | 9 | 35.3% |
| Semi-final 3 | 28 May | 10.03 | 6 | 35.9% |
| Semi-final 4 | 29 May | 10.13 | 5 | 41.9% |
| Semi-final 5 | 30 May | 11.86 | 2 | 50.0% |
| Live final | 31 May | 11.52 | 3 | 51.1% |
| Live final results | 31 May | 13.88 | 1 | 55.1% |