Britain's Got Talent's Simon Cowell hits golden buzzer after very dramatic audition

Britain's Got Talent features a golden buzzer that each judge - Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and KSI - can press to send a contestant straight through to the live semi-finals

We've not even seen the last audition of the first episode of Britain's Got Talent and the golden buzzer has already been pressed. Australian aerial silks performer Paul Nunnari got series 19's first pass to the live shows from Simon Cowell after he dazzled with his skills - whilst still attached to his wheelchair.

Paul's act came in the middle of the show. The Aussie buckled himself into his chair and then proceeded to use only his arms to climb the silks. While he held onto the material and a small loop at the top, another person came onto the stage to start swinging around the ropes until Paul was horizontal as he flew in circles around the silks.

And that wasn't all - Paul then did the same thing but this time, he wasn't holding on to the loop. Instead, he put it around his head so that he was only attached via his neck and could go hands free.

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Once the audition had finished, Simon admitted that he wasn't usually a fan of aerial silks but enjoyed Paul's performance and promptly pressed the golden buzzer.

Though this happened in the first episode, this is not the first time there has been such an early use of the golden buzzer. Just last year, Vinnie McKee, a Scottish bingo caller and singer-songwriter, got the pass in series 18's premiere episode.

The golden buzzer is traditionally used only once by each judge, meaning there can be up to four uses in total. As such, it is expected that Simon will not be able to press the buzzer, which allowed the recipient to go straight to the live semi-finals, again.

However, Alesha Dixon indicated at a launch event that Simon might try to send another contestant through during this series. At a launch event for the show, Alesha revealed how a fight against Simon left her physically hurt. "I injured myself trying to stop Simon pressing the Golden Buzzer," she said.

Simon shared that he and the other judges were "fighting over the Golden Buzzer a lot" this year. In one case, this meant Alesha hurt herself. "There was an act where we were quite competitive for the Golden Buzzer. And I could sense Simon getting up, so I literally dived across the desk.

"I've never done that before, I dived onto the desk. And then they wanted me to recreate this dive. So how can I recreate this? Because I injured myself just to stop him getting his way." As this was not seen when Paul got his buzzer, this implies that Simon wanted to press it for another contestant too.

After sustaining an injury to the head following a fall last year, Simon has previously had to sit out some of Britain's Got Talent's auditions, which are taking place at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool this series. Stacey Solomon filled in for the judge, while Amanda Holden took over as the head judge.

“I must admit I hated sitting in that seat,” said Amanda. “I’ve been on the show the longest, so I understand why I probably need to sit in that seat, but when I was there, I felt very outcast on the end.”

Without a judge on either side of her, Amanda admits she felt exposed. “It’s OK if your team are sitting to the left of you – Simon’s got dozens of staff and family watching from the side and communicating with him. Mine all decided to eat my snacks and sit in the dressing room paying no attention to the show or me whatsoever!” says Amanda. “Simon said to me, ‘You must have loved it. Did you feel powerful?’ I said I hated it because I had to keep leaning in to be part of the conversation. I never want to sit in that seat again! I’m juicy in the middle, it’s such a good spot.”

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