Britain’s Got Talent final 2016: Magician Richard Jones wins ahead of singer Wayne Woodward

The military man paid tribute to former prisoner of war Fergus Anckorn in his brilliant act
Ben Travis31 May 2016

Magician Richard Jones has become the latest act to win Britain’s Got Talent in the live final.

Following a week of live semi-finals, which saw 45 acts perform, 12 acts made it through to the last stage of the competition.

Jones, a soldier in the British army, wowed the judges and the audience with his latest performance of a classic close-up card trick, which also told the story of veteran Fergus Anckorn.

The 97 year-old was a prisoner of war in World War II, and used to perform magic to keep the spirits of himself and his fellow captives up.

Winner: military magician Richard Jones has won Britain's Got Talent for his routine with PoW veteran Fergus Anckorn
ITV

At the end of his act, Jones introduced Anckorn on stage.

“It’s unbelievable, thank you so much,” said Jones after winning the show. “I can’t believe it, thank you so much to everyone who voted, it’s an incredible feeling.

“It means the world to me.”

Jones thanked his family, Anckorn, and the magic circle.

Narrowly missing out was singer Wayne Woodward, who impressed the judges with his cheeky personality. He sang Feeling Good in the finals.

Britain's Got Talent: Past Winners - In pictures

1/13

“I don’t think that’s the last we’re going to see of Wayne Woodward”, said Dec.

Dancing stormtroopers Boogie Storm placed third for their latest routine, which included the iconic ‘lift’ from Dirty Dancing.

Britain's Got Talent London Dresses - In pictures

1/8

Also missing out on the chance to perform at the Royal Variety Show were singers Mel and Jamie, dancers Shannon and Peter, dancer Balance Unity, stuntman Alex Magala, choir 100 Voices of Gospel, dancing dog Trip Hazard, impressionist Craig Ball, and singers Beau Dermott and Jasmine Elcock.

The series this year celebrated its tenth anniversary, with the final featuring a performance that reunited acts from previous years including Diversity, George Sampson, Pudsey the dog, and Stavros Flatley.

ITV, 7.30pm

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in