<P> In the first series, 24 contestants made it into the three semi-finals, and in subsequent series this has been increased to 40 (45 in series 6 - 10) contestants across five live shows . The act which receives the most public votes in each semi-final goes through to the final, with the second finalist being decided by the judges from the second and third most popular contestants . In series 6, a "wildcard" element was introduced . This is where judges pick an eliminated act from the semi-finals, and that act is sent through to the final . In series 6, the wildcard act selected was The Mend . In series 7, the wildcard was Steve Hewlett and in series 8, al Jon Clegg . Series 9 featured a second wildcard, voted for by the public from the five acts who lost the judges' vote in the semi-finals . The judges' wildcard was Boyband and the public's wildcard was Jessie - Jane McParland . </P> <P> In the final, each of the finalists perform again, but this time the result is determined purely from the public vote, with the winner receiving £ 250,000 (£ 100,000 in series 1--5, £ 500,000 in series 6) and the chance to perform their act at the Royal Variety Performance . </P> <P> Opera singer Paul Potts won the first series of the competition in 2007, street dancer George Sampson won the second series in 2008, dance troupe Diversity won the third series in 2009, gymnast troupe Spelbound won the fourth series in 2010, singer Jai McDowall won the fifth series in 2011, dancing dog act Ashleigh and Pudsey won the sixth series in 2012, shadow theatre group, Attraction won the seventh series in 2013, classical singers Collabro won the eighth series in 2014, and musical canine freestyle act Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse won the ninth series in 2015 . Magician Richard Jones won the tenth series in 2016 . Pianist Tokio Myers won the eleventh series in 2017 . </P> <P> For more details on each of the contestants, see the relevant series article . </P>

Who has won britain's got talent in the past
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