Choir put together by Jeremy Clarkson - and includes Harper Adams alumni - wins Britain’s Got Talent
Shortly before the result was announced, judge Alesha Dixon joined her newly reunited girl group Mis-Teeq.
A choir put together by TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson and includes alumni students from Harper Adams University has been named the winner of the 2026 edition of Britain’s Got Talent.
The Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir are the first group of their kind to win the ITV talent show, with the Clarkson’s Farm presenter, 66, looking emotional and applauding as they performed during Saturday’s live final.
After their win was announced, one of the choir’s members, Katryna Shell, told presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly: “We are the first ever choir to have won Britain’s Got Talent.
“This is for all the farmers out there, for anybody that’s struggling, it’s not a taboo subject, if you’re not OK, speak up, this is for the farmers.”
They will receive a £250,000 cash prize and the opportunity to perform at the annual Royal Variety Performance.
Before their performance, the group described Clarkson as their “biggest cheerleader” and added they “couldn’t thank him enough”, while judge KSI, real name Olajide Olatunji, said he wanted to add their original song, This Is Home, to his Spotify playlist after they performed it.
Among those selected for the 32-strong group were former Harper Adams students James Florey, a fourth-generation farmer from Witney, and Gwen Woodruffe, who studied Agricultural Marketing the Shropshire university.
In March, the choir - which also aims to raise awareness for mental health challenges within the farming community - moved the nation in their first appearance on Britain’s Got Talent and secured a Golden Buzzer from judge Amanda Holden.
When not singing, James manages a 500-acre family farm in Oxfordshire, while Gwen now works at Butser Ancient Farm in Hampshire.
Gwen described her involvement in the group as a “dream come true”, and said it has boosted her own mental health.
She added: "Getting to sing in a choir with such wonderful voices is so uplifting. It has given me enormous joy and happiness, as well as boosting confidence and mental wellbeing."
Judge Simon Cowell said he had questioned their decision to perform an original song, but told them “it paid off” after their performance, calling it “absolutely stunning”, “heartfelt” and “joyous”, while fellow judge Amanda Holden was brought to tears.
She told them: “You’ve made me cry again, I couldn’t be prouder of you, the harmonising was beautiful, and watching the changing seasons behind you, and really thinking about every second that you spend sowing dreams into that earth, which is one of the beautiful lines of that song.”
Dog act Anastasiia and Salsa finished in third place, while drone display team Celestial finished second after a pre-recorded performance recreating moments from previous series of Britain’s Got Talent with illuminated drones.
Shortly before the result was announced, judge Alesha Dixon joined her newly reunited girl group Mis-Teeq, completed by Sabrina Washington and Su-Elise Nash, for the first time in more than 20 years to perform a medley of their hits including Scandalous.
The trio announced last week that they would return to the stage for their One Night Stand gig at London’s Wembley Arena on September 12.
Fire-eater Liwei Yang opened the show with a performance that saw her flip and dance with her husband with a blazing skipping rope, while her husband also danced with two ropes of fire. It climaxed with her balancing a giant flaming table in the air with her feet.
It came after a delay to the programme while safety teams prepared the stage, while other performances included magician and musician Rafferty Coope and poet Sonny Green.