Scots holiday park entertainer gets golden buzzer as Britain’s Got Talent returns

A Scottish holiday park entertainer who performed a soulful version of The Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) received the golden buzzer as Britain’s Got Talent returned to STV on Saturday.

Vinnie McKee was sent directly to the semi-final of the talent show after impressing judges Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell, KSI, Bruno Tonioli and Alesha Dixon with his act.

After the performance, Cowell told him “I wasn’t expecting that, I’m actually quite speechless”, before pressing the buzzer after the audience chanted “press the gold”.

He asked the 29-year-old if he was professionally trained, to which he replied: “No, I just always sang from a young age, but I’ve been on the (entertainment) park since I was 18, so I’ve never really left.”

Simon Cowell pressed his golden buzzer for singer Vinnie McKee. PA Media

After pressing the buzzer, Cowell walked on to the stage as it was being covered in gold confetti and shook his hand, saying: “That was an absolutely spectacular version, incredible.”

Comedian Will Burns, who was the last act of the show, also received a golden buzzer from presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, who stormed the stage to press the button.

The 24-year-old performed impressions of the voiceovers from The X Factor, Gogglebox and Big Brother, as well as stars such as TV presenter Sir David Attenborough and Take That singer Gary Barlow.

Before performing, the contestant revealed he was a big fan of the show, having had a Britain’s Got Talent-themed room as a child, and having hosted birthday parties based on the show.

After the buzzer was pressed, Burns told the presenting duo “you’ve just changed my life” as gold confetti fell from the ceiling.

After Burns left the stage, Holden said: “He could win the whole thing I feel.”

Cowell added: “I mean that’s what it’s all about, moments like that.”

Elsewhere, the show took a gruesome turn, when horror-themed act Auzzy Blood began to insert a series of sharp metal objects into his face, before running a tube into his mouth and out of his nose for Cowell to drink through.

The judges looked visibly scared as the act continued, climaxing with the performer climbing up a rope using a metal hook in his mouth.

Despite concerns from Dixon, Auzzy Blood was voted through to the next stage of the competition, with Cowell describing the performance as “one of my favourite acts of the day”.

Another leftfield display saw Akira from Tokyo voted through to the next stage, with his act seeing him cover his genitalia with a number of objects, with the task becoming more difficult as the items he used got smaller, or moved faster.

Dog act Sarah And Meatball were left disappointed however, after Meatball the dog refused to perform with his owner, having arrived on stage in an electric car, prompting the judges to send them home.

The other acts making it through to the next round included eight-year-old magician Teddy, accordion player and singer RuMac, and singing duo Han And Fran, who had the audience dancing to their Abba medley.

Britain’s Got Talent’s 18th season began on Saturday, with the show seeing a number of different styles of performers compete for a chance to star in the Royal Variety Performance and a cash prize of £250,000.

Previous winners have included singer Susan Boyle, dance act Diversity and dog act Ashleigh And Pudsey.

The show will return to STV and STV Player next Saturday at 7pm.