LONDON, May 30, 2026 — The Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir has been crowned the winner of Britain’s Got Talent Series 19, claiming the £250,000 prize and a spot at the Royal Variety Performance after a live grand final that featured two magicians competing simultaneously for the first time in the show’s history.
The choir, founded by Jeremy Clarkson as part of an advertising campaign for his Cotswolds-based Hawkstone brewery, triumphed over nine other acts at the Eventim Apollo on Saturday, May 30, receiving more than one million public votes. Clarkson was reduced to tears during the choir’s final performance of their original song “This Is Home,” watching from the audience as the group completed a journey he had described earlier in the competition as one that made his heart sing. A choir spokesperson said on air: “We are the first ever choir to have won Britain’s Got Talent. This is for all the farmers out there.” The choir plans to donate profits from their record to mental health charity Shout, supporting farmers nationwide.
Drone display act Celestial finished as runner-up, and acrobatic dog duo Anastasiia Beaumont and Salsa claimed third place. Spoken-word performer Sonny Green had been the bookmakers’ favorite heading into the final but was unable to convert that status into a victory.
Rafferty Coope, the 17-year-old musical magician from Winchester, finished fifth. His grand final performance centered on a message of positivity, with Coope writing the numbers 371 and 415 — drawn from raffle tickets selected by judges Alesha Dixon and KSI — on top of a white grand piano, then rotating the piano to reveal what he said spelled the word “smile.” Viewers at home were quick to disagree, taking to social media to point out the rotated numbers bore little resemblance to the word, with reactions ranging from bafflement to humor. The judges were generous nonetheless — KSI praised Coope’s entire BGT journey, and Alesha Dixon called him a ray of sunshine. More coverage of Coope’s BGT journey can be found on Conjurly here: Rafferty Coope Advances to Britain’s Got Talent Grand Final and here: Rafferty Coope Earns Golden Buzzer on Britain’s Got Talent
Austrian magician Fabian Fox finished ninth. His grand final performance extended his signature time-traveling concept, with Simon Cowell selecting a number from 1 to 99, KSI selecting a name from shuffled pieces of paper, Amanda Holden choosing a location card at random, and Alesha Dixon saying a random word aloud — “insane” — before Fox appeared to time travel via a box lifted into the air. A video then played showing Fox at a football stadium wearing a jersey bearing the number Cowell had selected, with Alesha’s word written on the pitch. Fox then revealed the name KSI had chosen was “Harry” — at which point reigning Series 18 champion Harry Moulding appeared alongside him on stage in a surprise cameo.
Additional Conjurly news coverage of Fox’s semi-final appearance on BGT Series 19 can be found here: Austrian Magician Fabian Fox Advances to Britain’s Got Talent Grand Final
Despite not taking the title, Coope and Fox made history as the first two magicians to compete in the same BGT grand final. Their presence extended a strong run for magic on the show’s stage. Darcy Oake reached the final in 2014, Jamie Raven finished runner-up in 2015, and Richard Jones became the first magician to win the competition in 2016. Jack Rhodes came within striking distance of the title just two years ago, finishing runner-up in 2024. Harry Moulding won outright last year.
The Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir becomes the first choir ever to win Britain’s Got Talent. The group was originally brought together by Clarkson for a Hawkstone lager advertising campaign that was subsequently banned from television but found wide popularity online. Since then, the choir has used its platform to raise awareness of mental health issues in farming. Their victory was not without controversy — social media lit up with accusations of a fix, with critics alleging Clarkson’s profile and ITV ties had swayed the public vote. The claims remain unproven.
For the magic community, the result is a near miss rather than a defeat. Two magicians on the same grand final stage was itself a first and with Coope just 17 and Fox only 26, neither story is close to finished. The BGT winner’s podium has welcomed magicians before. It likely will again.
Responses