Britains Got Talent - Darcy Oake Makes the Final

After eight years, a magician has made the final of Britain's Got Talent for the first time. At the end of the week, Darcy Oake will compete with ten other acts to win the grand prize - £250,000 and the opportunity to perform in the Royal Variety Show at the end of the year.



How Did He Make It This Far?

For his performance in the First Semi-final, Darcy provided a big, elaborate and entertaining trick. After repeating a couple of the dove productions from his audition, he sat in a chair placed on the centre of the stage, and was covered with a sheet. A cameraman circled the chair, providing a view from all sides. As he reached the right of the stage, the sheet was removed to reveal that Darcy had vanished from beneath the sheet. The cameraman then turned around, removed his equipment, and revealed that he was actually Darcy.

As with his audition, Darcy took a fairly cliche and familiar trick, but provided a new and exciting presentation. The use of the cameraman was clever and unique, and although the illusion itself is not hard to figure out if you're a expert magician, Darcy was able to conceal the secrets reasonably well, not making any obvious errors.

The judges were full of praise, and Darcy found himself in the top three for the Semi-final with two other big favourites: The musical theatre group Collabro and the impressionist Jon Clegg. Collabro won the public vote, leaving Darcy and Jon to face the judges. Although David Walliams and Alesha Dixon chose Jon, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell voted for Darcy. This meant that the act who received the most votes from the public would progress to the final, and that act was Darcy.

Who Will Darcy Face In the Final?

Apart from Collabro, Darcy Oake will be up against four other singing acts: James Smith, Lucy Kay, Bars & Melody and Jack Pack, all of whom won the public vote in their respective heats. The other acts who made it through as a judges choice include three dance acts: The Addict Initiative, Yanis Marshall, Arnaud & Mehdi and Paddy & Nico, and a violinist, Lettice Rowbotham. The judges will also pick a wildcard act to join the final from the acts who lost the judges choice, with Jon Clegg and teenage singer-songwriter Bailey McConnell the most likely choices.

Can Darcy Win?

In order to win, Darcy Oake needs to do two things: Provide us with a spectacular trick, and avoid making any mistakes. Although he only came second in his heat, Darcy is one of the better acts in this year's final. Victory from his position is not impossible (Diversity managed it in series 3), but Darcy needs to provide a truly amazing performance if he wants to have a chance of winning.