Alesha Dixon responds to Britain's Got Talent Golden Buzzer controversy
Viewers thought they were 'friends'
Author: Alex RossPublished 15th May 2018 Last updated 15th May 2018
As this year's Britain's Got Talent auditions come to an end, the lucky contestants are preparing for the live semi-final shows later this month, but one contestant has had his fair share of controversy in the last few days.
On last Saturday's show, judge Alesha Dixon pressed her Golden Buzzer for musician Lifford Shillingford after he stunned the audience with his rendition of Sam Cooke's 'A Change Is Gonna Come'. But after it appeared that Alesha was 'friends' with Lifford, viewers of the show took to Twitter to express their anger at the moment, with many calling it 'unfair'.
After seeing the comments from fans of the show, Alesha has now hit back at the accusations and denied that she is 'friends' with Lifford.
Speaking to The Mirror, Alesha said, "He's not a friend. That sounds cold, but I don't have his phone number. I haven't seen him in years.
"When I say I know him, I know his music. I remember him from back in the day. There were shows that Mis-Teeq were doing that he was too. There was just a mutual respect and understanding between us."
Watch Lifford's full Britain's Got Talent audition below:
See all of the Britain's Got Talent winners so far:
Paul Potts
Paul Potts won the very first show in 2007 with his hugely impressive singing abilities.
Alesha Dixon responds to Britain's Got Talent Golden Buzzer controversy
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Colin Thackery
Colin Thackery won Britain's Got Talent in 2019.
Paul Potts
Paul Potts won the very first show in 2007 with his hugely impressive singing abilities.
George Sampson
Break dancer George Sampson won the show in 2008 at the age of just 14-years-old.
Diversity
Dance group Diversity won the show in 2009, with Ashley Banjo going on to become a TV presenter.
Spellbound
The 2010 series also saw a dance group win in the form of Spellbound, pictured here performing with singer Katherine Jenkins that year.
Jai McDowall
Singer Jai McDowall won the show in 2011.
Ashleigh and Pudsey
Dog performing act Ashleigh and Pudsey were winners of the 2012 series. However, Pudsey sadly passed away in July 2017.
Attraction
Another dance group won over the public in 2013, as Attraction used shadows and puppets to create beautiful spectacles - pictured here with Terry Crews.
Collabro
Singing group Collabro wowed viewers in 2014 with their performances of musical theatre songs.
Jules and Matisse
Britain's Got Talent saw its second dog act winner in 2015 with Jules and Matisse.
Richard Jones
Magician Richard Jones won the hearts of the nation in 2016.
Tokio Myers
Pianist and music producer Tokio Myers won the show in 2017, pictured here with BGT judge Amanda Holden.
Lost Voice Guy
Lost Voice Guy, real name Lee Ridley, won in 2018.
Colin Thackery
Colin Thackery won Britain's Got Talent in 2019.
Paul Potts
Paul Potts won the very first show in 2007 with his hugely impressive singing abilities.
George Sampson
Break dancer George Sampson won the show in 2008 at the age of just 14-years-old.
Diversity
Dance group Diversity won the show in 2009, with Ashley Banjo going on to become a TV presenter.
Spellbound
The 2010 series also saw a dance group win in the form of Spellbound, pictured here performing with singer Katherine Jenkins that year.
Jai McDowall
Singer Jai McDowall won the show in 2011.
Ashleigh and Pudsey
Dog performing act Ashleigh and Pudsey were winners of the 2012 series. However, Pudsey sadly passed away in July 2017.
Attraction
Another dance group won over the public in 2013, as Attraction used shadows and puppets to create beautiful spectacles - pictured here with Terry Crews.
Collabro
Singing group Collabro wowed viewers in 2014 with their performances of musical theatre songs.
Jules and Matisse
Britain's Got Talent saw its second dog act winner in 2015 with Jules and Matisse.
Richard Jones
Magician Richard Jones won the hearts of the nation in 2016.
Tokio Myers
Pianist and music producer Tokio Myers won the show in 2017, pictured here with BGT judge Amanda Holden.
Lost Voice Guy
Lost Voice Guy, real name Lee Ridley, won in 2018.
Colin Thackery
Colin Thackery won Britain's Got Talent in 2019.
Meanwhile, with the auditions coming to an end this weekend, all five Golden Buzzers have now been used up by hosts Ant & Dec, and judges Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and David Walliams.
Whilst all four judges have chosen singers as their Golden Buzzer acts, Ant & Dec pressed theirs for magician Marc Spelmann.
Revealing one of the acts reminded him of his young son Eric, DigitalSpy reported Simon as saying, "There was this kid and I was thinking, 'God, that literally could be Eric'. It wouldn't be me as the dad, but it could be Eric. There was something about this boy, he sang with his dad and I thought the song they wrote was really cool."
Britain's Got Talent continues on ITV on Saturday 19th May at 8pm.
