The buzzer and the backlash
Britain's Got Talent series 10 ran in the spring of 2016, hosted by Ant and Dec, with David Walliams, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell on the panel. The hosts hold a Golden Buzzer of their own, usable once, which sends an act straight past the audition cut.
They used theirs on Jasmine Elcock, then 14. The Daily Mirror's report of 1 May 2016 is built entirely on the objection that followed: harsh viewers saying Ant and Dec had wasted their buzzer on her. The story is a record of the reaction rather than of the performance, and it is a tabloid account; both points are noted here rather than smoothed over.
What she did with it
The results table for the series records what happened after the argument. In semi-final five Elcock finished second on the public vote with 23.4 per cent and was put through on the judges' vote. That is the harder of the two routes: it means the panel chose her over another act in a head-to-head after the audience had ranked her second.
In the final she took 11.8 per cent and finished fourth of ten acts. The winner was Richard Jones, a close-up magician, on 16.7 per cent; the jazz singer Wayne Woodward was second on 13.8 and the dance group Boogie Storm third on 12.8. Fewer than five percentage points separated first from fourth.
What the numbers say about the backlash
The 2016 final was one of the closest the show has produced. Four acts finished inside five points of each other, and the two acts immediately behind Elcock - the musical theatre singer Beau Dermott on 9.8 per cent and the impressionist Craig Ball on 9.2 - were also within touching distance.
Against that, the claim that a Golden Buzzer had been wasted does not survive the vote. A fourth place in a ten-act final, having already been ranked second by the public in her semi-final, is a result the audience itself produced. The Mirror reported the complaint; the table records the outcome.
How the Golden Buzzer works
Each judge, and the hosting pair, may press the Golden Buzzer once per series. The act goes directly to the live semi-finals, bypassing the panel's deliberations entirely. Because the device is scarce and public, its use is an editorial statement, and the audience treats it as one.
That is why the 2016 decision generated coverage at all. A single press commits the hosts for an entire series, and viewers who disagree have nothing to argue with except the choice itself. The show has never released a criterion for it beyond each presser's own judgement.
What is documented and what is not
Documented by the series results table and the Mirror: her age of 14, her billing as a singer, Ant and Dec's Golden Buzzer, the viewer backlash that followed, her second place on the public vote in semi-final five with 23.4 per cent, her progression on the judges' vote, and her fourth place in the final with 11.8 per cent.
Not documented in these sources: her date of birth, her home town, her school, the songs she sang, and anything about her since the 2016 series. The research record for this page notes that only the results table was reachable when it was compiled, and that the Mirror is a tabloid source; both caveats stand.
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Received Ant and Dec's Golden Buzzer on Britain's Got Talent series 10, 2016, aged 14
- Second on the public vote in semi-final five with 23.4%, through on the judges' vote
- Fourth in the final with 11.8%; Richard Jones won on 16.7%
- The Daily Mirror reported viewer complaints about the buzzer decision
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- The backlash report is a tabloid account of viewer reaction, not of the performance
- No source used here names her repertoire, home town or school
- The research record notes only the results table was reachable when it was compiled; nothing documents her after 2016
Questions people ask about Jasmine Elcock
How old is Jasmine Elcock?
She was reported as 14 during the 2016 series of Britain's Got Talent, which places her birth year around 2002. No date of birth appears in these sources.
Who gave Jasmine Elcock the Golden Buzzer?
The hosts, Ant and Dec, who hold one Golden Buzzer between them each series.
Why was there a backlash?
The Daily Mirror reported on 1 May 2016 that some viewers felt Ant and Dec had wasted their one Golden Buzzer on her. The report is an account of the reaction, and it is a tabloid source.
Where did Jasmine Elcock finish?
Fourth in the 2016 final, with 11.8 per cent of the public vote, in a ten-act final won by the magician Richard Jones on 16.7 per cent.
How did she reach the final?
She finished second on the public vote in semi-final five with 23.4 per cent and was put through by the judges' vote.
What did Jasmine Elcock sing?
Neither source used for this page names the songs she performed, and this page does not supply titles it cannot verify.
Where is Jasmine Elcock now?
Nothing in the sources used here documents anything after the 2016 series.
Is Jasmine Elcock on Wikipedia?
She appears in the results table for Britain's Got Talent series 10. No standalone English Wikipedia article for her is recorded here.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Jasmine’s story?
Who pressed the Golden Buzzer for Jasmine Elcock?
Where did she finish in the 2016 final?
Who won Britain's Got Talent in 2016?
Sources
- Britain's Got Talent series 10 — Wikipedia (series results table)
- Britain's Got Talent outrage over Jasmine Elcock with harsh viewers saying Ant and Dec 'wasted' their Golden Buzzer — Daily Mirror, 2016-05-01
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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