Following the conclusion of the previous series, it was announced that the show would return for an eighteenth series. It was also confirmed that the judging panel of the prior series would remain the same, with
Simon Cowell,
Amanda Holden,
Alesha Dixon and
Bruno Tonioli returning to the show, additionally, guest judge
KSI partially replaced Tonioli, who was unavailable due to his commitments in America with
Dancing with the Stars, and also stepped in for Cowell, who stepped down following the death of
One Direction star
Liam Payne. This is the first time in the show's history that it aired in February, instead of April, to fill the gap in the schedule left by ''
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'', following the start of its indefinite hiatus, in April 2024. In November 2024, it was announced that the auditions would be entirely filmed in Blackpool and not in London for the first time in the show's history. The pre-recorded auditions were broadcast from 22 February to 19 April 2025; due to live coverage of the final match weekend of the
2025 Six Nations Championship, the fourth audition episode of the series was pushed back by a week. The live semi-final shows started airing on a weekly basis, from 26 April to the live final on 31 May 2025. Due to
BBC One and ITV's live coverage of the
2025 FA Cup final and BBC One's live coverage of the
Eurovision Song Contest 2025 final, on 17 May 2025, the fourth semi-final was pushed back a day to avoid clashes. On 16 April 2025, it was announced that each of the judges and the hosts, Ant & Dec, were permitted to one Golden Buzzer each in the live shows with one pressed every episode to advance an act onto the final with the other Finalist on a weekly basis being determined by the act who won the Public Vote. However, during the last semi final, on 24 May 2025, Ant & Dec announced that they would instead allow KSI, who served as a guest judge once more during the show, to use their Live Show Golden Buzzer. Wildcard Golden Buzzer Live Show Golden Buzzer • IDOLLS previously reached the Semi-Finals of
Series 13 under the name Fabulous Sisters.
Semi-finals summary Buzzed out Golden Buzzer Prior to the beginning of the live shows, the semi-finalists were decided following a deliberation stage.
Semi-final 1 (26 April) • Guest performance:
The Cast of Tina - The Tina Turner Musical Teddy Magic was scheduled to perform second, however he pulled out of performing before withdrawing from the show on 15th May, hopefully returns in a
future series by the producers.
Semi-final 2 (3 May) • Guest performance:
The Cast of ''Disney's Hercules'' Will Burns buzzed himself with Cowell's buzzer as part of his act.
Semi-final 3 (10 May) • Guest performance:
The Cast of Just For One Day,
Sydnie Christmas &
Loren Allred Semi-final 4 (18 May) • Guest performance:
The Cast of Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular,
The Cast of Oliver! Semi-final 5 (24 May) • Guest performance:
Here & Now - The Steps Musical &
Steps,
Diversity Although he did not have a buzzer himself, KSI pressed Dixon's buzzer at the end of the performance to mark his disapproval of the act. Han & Fran were later sent through as the judges’ wildcard.
Final (31 May) • Guest Performance:
KSI &
Tom Grennan : | | == Ratings ==