<Ul> <Li> ◀ </Li> <Li> 2014 </Li> <Li> ▶ </Li> </Ul> <P> Series Eight of Britain's Got Talent, a British talent competition series, began broadcasting in the UK during 2014, from 12 April to 7 June on ITV; because of England's international friendly with Peru, the show took a break on 30 May to avoid clashing with live coverage of the match . The series is most notable for holding auditions in Northern Ireland for the first time, instead of Scotland as had been done since the second series, as well as for the hosts Ant & Dec having to stand in for Simon Cowell, after illness forced him to be absent during a day of auditions . It was also the first series in the show's history to have a buzzer used during the live final, and was the first to include the "Golden Buzzer" - a format introduced to the programme, which had begun to appear within the Got Talent franchise since it was first introduced on Germany's Got Talent in 2012 . </P> <P> The eighth series was won by boy band Collabro, with opera singer Lucy Kay finishing in second place and singing / rapping duo Bars and Melody in third place . During its broadcast, the series averaged around 9.8 million viewers . </P> <P> Following open auditions held the previous year between 19 October to 1 December 2013 in various cities, which included auditions held at a series of "Talent Spot tents" provided by the show's sponsor that year, and at The Savoy Hotel in Blackpool and The Old Ship Hotel in Brighton, the Judges' auditions took place between January and February 2014, within Belfast, London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Cardiff . For the first time since the second series, auditions didn't take place in Scotland, as the show's producers wished to try new locations for talent, which led to them opting to hold auditions within Northern Ireland for the first time as a result . Due to illness, Simon Cowell was forced to be absent from a day of auditions in Manchester to recover, leading to hosts Ant & Dec each standing in for him, while on the final day of auditions in London, Cowell was forced to be absent for them to attend to his girlfriend Lauren Silverman, who had gone into labour that day; the show's production team chose not to bring in a stand - in because of this . </P>

Who won season eight of britain's got talent