Britain’s Got Talent viewers were left divided tonight (May 23) after the latest live semi-final opened with yet another musical theatre performance.

Saturday night’s show saw Ant and Dec return alongside judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and KSI as more acts battled it out for a place in next weekend’s final.

The Britain’s Got Talent 2026 final will air on May 30. One of the eight finalists will be crowned this year’s winner and take home the £250,000 cash prize, along with the chance to perform at the Royal Variety Performance.

Britain’s Got Talent tonight

Tonight’s episode kicked off with a performance from the cast of Matilda the Musical before the remaining contestants took to the stage.

So far, the series has featured five live shows, with four of them opening with performances from musical theatre productions.

The first semi-final featured the cast of I’m Every Woman — The Chaka Khan Musical. Meanwhile, the third live show included a Westlife medley from the cast of Avenue Q.

A week later, the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar also performed live on the programme.

With another musical number opening tonight’s episode, some viewers quickly complained online about the repeated format.

‘God I hate this!’

“Please stop it with the cute kids stuff,” one user wrote on X.

Another viewer shared: “A prime reason not to go to musicals.”

“Why is Simon Cowell always plugging crap musicals on #BGT,” a third remarked.

“I feel like every year they have a performance from Matilda at Britain’s Got Talent or have I made that up? Lol,” another person said.

A fifth viewer bluntly declared: “GOD I HATE THIS.”

‘What an opening!’

However, not everybody watching at home felt the same way, with many praising the opening performance.

“Wow, what an opening! Those kids are phenomenal,” one fan wrote.

Another shared: “I recently saw @MatildaMusical at the Cambridge Theatre & it was spectacular. Great to see it featured on tonight’s @BGT, it’s FAB!”

“Golden buzzer performance,” a third viewer added.