Britain's Got Talent series 14

[1] The series was notable for Simon Cowell's absence from the semi-finals and final after he sustained an injury following an accident in August, forcing him to be replaced by Ashley Banjo.

The semi-finals and the final incorporated a number of safety measures, including the use of a virtual audience and physical distancing amongst hosts, judges, participants, and staff, with all episodes being aired weekly - a first in the programme's history.

The fourteenth series was won by comedic pianist and singer Jon Courtenay, becoming the first golden buzzer act to do so, with sign-language choir Sign Along With Us finishing in second place and comedian Steve Royle third.

While audition episodes had been pre-recorded and thus were aired as planned, British government measures implemented to prevent the spread of the infection effectively halted work on all live television productions.

ITV was forced to split the series into two parts, and went into discussion with the production company over how to produce and air the second half of the competition within a safe working environment and ongoing monitoring of the pandemic.

However, the regulator rejected all complaints on 17 September, ruling that the criticism was unfounded and that the performance had been aiming to promote "social cohesion and unity", adding that "freedom of expression is particularly important in the context of artistic works".

His routines themselves later saw Ofcom receive around 3,000 complaints over the nature of his jokes being aired on a family programme, yet the regulator rejected these on grounds that the comedian had performed within acceptable boundaries.