Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden’s children have pushed the golden buzzer on Britain’s Got Talent as the auditions for the series come to an end.
The ITV talent show returned on Sunday, with judges Cowell, Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli, and presenters Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly – and the last few hopefuls for the semi-final week were revealed.
During the episode, Japanese skipping dancers Haribow, who somersaulted across the stage doing various tricks, left the judges almost speechless.
They received a standing ovation from the audience and numerous pleas for a golden buzzer, which would put them straight through to the semi-finals and are generally used only by the judges and hosts, from the BGT fans.
Dixon said she had “none left” regarding the buzzers along with Tonioli, while Cowell said that he “did not know what to say”.
“My son is literally going crazy right now,” Cowell added.
His son Eric, who he shares with wife Lauren Silverman, then went over and pushed the buzzer along with Holden’s daughter Hollie, who she shares with record producer husband Chris Hughes.
“They pressed it for the audience,” Holden said before calling the dancers “unbelievable”.
Congratulating the dance troupe, Donnelly told them: “That’s never happened before.”
Elsewhere, actor and comedian Dave Bibby also claimed he was trying to break a record by having custard pies thrown at him by McPartlin and Donnelly.
However, it had actually been a prank so that Cowell could throw custard pies at the Geordie presenting duo, who have previously played tricks on him.
“Dave you had us,” Donnelly said.
Also making into the next stage was an ensemble of women and a few men called Midlife Movers, who strutted their stuff to Relight My Fire, a nine-year-old magician, called Ella Rose, from Tamworth, and recorder player Richard Lindesay, 45.
Also receiving praise from the judges was Leightonjay Halliday, 23, a dancer from Scottish village Douglas, who used a small pool while expressing the vocals of Kodi Lee’s Change and ending up completely soaked.
Dixon said that “even if we took away the water” the dance would got through to the next stage, while Cowell said America’s Got Talent star Lee would be “so blown away when I call him and say ‘someone has just done the most unbelievable audition to your song’”.
American sword swallower Heather Holliday, 38, demonstrated putting a long blade into her mouth along with eight swords all at once, while turning around the stage and was given a standing ovation by some in the audiences and judges.
Cowell told Heather, wearing a gold dress, that she had a “star glow around you” and called her act “unbelievable”.
Heather and Leightonjay were both able to progress on the show.
Not making another round was the Radetzky Quartet from the Netherlands who played their instruments while engaging in slapstick comedy.
Improved supply of new cars helps Toyota sales grow
Toyota has improved its share of new car sales in Australia significantly in 2024. So far this year, Toyota has sold 121,301 vehicles to achieve a market share of 19.2 per cent, selling 29,066 more cars so far this year than in the same period in 2023.
Toyota also become the first manufacturer to sell over 100,000 hybrid vehicles in a financial year, with 100,761 hybrids sold between July 2023 and June 2024.
Improved supply has seen the Toyota Corolla and Toyota RAV4 increase sales by over 30 per cent so far in 2024, with hybrids proving so popular that Toyota recently announced it will stop placing orders for petrol only vehicles where a hybrid equivalent is available.
Toyota new car wait times as of July 2024
- Toyota C-HR: 3 months
- Toyota RAV4: 4 months
- Toyota HiLux: 3-4 months
- Toyota Corolla and Yaris Cross: 5-6 months
- Toyota Landcruiser 300: less than 6 months
- Toyota Kluger and Toyota Yaris: 7-8 months
Ford sales dominated by Ranger and Everest
On the second spot of the sales podium is Ford with total sales of 49,622 for the half year, up 30 per cent over the same period last year. Ford sales are skewed significantly by the Ranger ute and Ranger-based Everest SUV, which combined represent around 90 per cent of all Ford sales.
Lagging behind on EV sales is the Ford Mustang Mach-E which has so far sold 326 units for the year. The Mustang Mach-E is currently on sale from $77,268 drive away for the Select rear wheel drive model equipped with a 72kWh battery for a claimed 470km range.
Mazda Australia is currently sitting on the third step of the sales podium so far in 2024 with total sales of 48,547 – down 3.7 per cent on 2023. Mazda sales are well distributed across its broad range, with its long standing Mazda CX-5 SUV sustaining strong performance as the country’s fourth best-selling SUV.
Which are the fastest growing car brands in Australia?
New brands to Australia continued to grow sales in the first half of 2024, with Chinese manufacturer Chery recording 166 per cent growth. Chery launched in Australia less than eighteen months ago and already has three SUVs on sale here.
The Chery OMODA 5, TIGGO 7 Pro and seven seat Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max collectively sold over 1000 units in June, with the brand also ticking over 10,000 sales since launch. Chery expects to increase sales further when it introduces its first electric vehicle, the OMODA E5, later this year.
Fellow Chinese brand BYD Automotive also celebrated strong sales growth of 54.1 per cent following the first month of sales data for its plug-in hybrid medium SUV, the BYD Sealion 6. BYD Automotive has committed to introducing a vehicle in each major sales segment, with a larger SUV and the BYD Shark ute expected to join the line-up in the near future.
The Toyota HiLux continues to battle the Ford Ranger for the title of Australia’s best-selling car
Which vehicles and segments are seeing sales growth in 2024?
Some new car segments that have fallen out of favour with car shoppers in recent years have bounced back in 2024 thanks to the arrival of new brands and electric vehicles.
Small cars
In the first half of 2024, small car sales are up 33 per cent as consumers seek more affordable vehicles, and fleets return to the market.
While small car sales were impacted favourably by increased availability of the Toyota Corolla (13,179 sales year to date) and a big spike in sales for the value-driven Kia Cerato (8219 sales year to date), they were also supported by falling prices of electric cars including the MG4 (2771 sales year to date), and the GWM Ora, now Australia’s cheapest EV (592 sales year to date).
Best-selling small cars in Australia: January – June 2024
- Small cars <$40K: Toyota Corolla, Kia Cerato, Hyundai i30
- Small cars >$40K: MG4, Subaru WRX, Audi A3
Medium cars
Medium cars are up 29 per cent, reflecting increased supply of the Toyota Camry (10,788 sales year to date), which is neck and neck in sales with the electric Tesla Model 3 (10,600 sales year to date), 2023’s sales champion in this segment.
Making an impact on medium car sales is the svelte BYD Seal mid-size electric sedan, which has already sold 4092 vehicles so far in 2024 after just seven months on sale.
Best-selling medium cars in Australia: January – June 2024
- Medium sedan <$60K: Toyota Camry, BYD Seal, Mazda6
- Medium sedan>$60K: Tesla Model 3, BMW 3 Series, BMW i4
Small SUVs
Sales of small SUVs have grown 15.8 per cent for the year, up 12,642 vehicles on the first half of 2023. The small SUV segment is now firmly positioned as the third best-selling vehicle type in Australia, behind medium SUVs and light commercial vehicles.
Fast-growing models in the small SUV segment include the new Hyundai Kona and Subaru Crosstrek.
Best-selling small SUVs in Australia: January – June 2024
- SUV small < $45K: MG ZS, Hyundai Kona, GWM Haval Jolion
- SUV small > $45K: Audi Q3, BMW X1, Volvo XC40
