Britain's Got Talent slapped with official Ofcom complaints as fans sickened by 'vile' act

Britain's Got Talent has already been hit with Ofcom complaints following its latest series debut over the weekend. the ITV talent show, headlined by Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly, returned over the weekend with a double showing on Saturday and Sunday to kick off the 17th series

A bunch of new hopefuls auditioned in a bid for the grand finale, and this season witnessed a record number of Golden Buzzers sending numerous acts directly to the semi-finals. Despite the array of talents on stage in the fresh series, an act triggered viewer frustrations, resulting in a flurry of Ofcom complaints.

The broadcast regulator amassed 54 grievances concerning Saturday night's (April 20) Britain's Got Talent episode, the first in the new series featuring the return of judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli.

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Contestant Kimberly Winter's burping routine provoked the complaints, with viewers at home left feeling nauseous by the audition. The act resulted in two judges exiting the panel, before Simon said: "We weren't expecting that, did you really fly in from America to burp at me? Really? It was so stupid, it was brilliant, really, that's a compliment."

Both Alesha and Bruno slammed down their red buzzers. However, Amanda joined in the act and replied with a burp to which a horrified Alesha shouted: "I'm out of here, I'm out of here! " while Bruno declared: "I'm bitterly disappointed, no, no, no! ", reports the Mirror.

Bruno, after some deliberation, decided to join Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell in giving Kimberly Winter a 'yes' despite Alesha's dissent of a 'no'. With three in her favour, Kimberly advanced to the next round.

The act presented sparked shock amongst the viewers as one commented on social media "Please tell me why someone was burping on stage? ", as another pointed out: "Burping is funny at first. But soon gets boring. #BGT." Another viewer expressed their surprise with: "#BGT #BritiansGotTalent burping girl seriously? ? ? ? " while a different viewer said: "I'm sorry but how was that burping woman entertaining? ? ...#BGT."

Also in the latest episode, both West End songstress Sydnie Christmas and the South Korean martial arts group Ssaulabi Performance Troupe earned the coveted Golden Buzzer. Over the weekend, there were further impressive performances, including a show from singer Innocent Masuku, whilst an eight year old boy battling a brain tumour touched hearts alongside a choir, delivering a tender rendition of 'A Million Dreams'.