Essex-born spoken word poet Sonny Green is favourite to win the final of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent 2026
Ant and Dec are back on our screens this evening (May 30) for the live final of the 2026 series of Britain’s Got Talent, where 10 acts will battle it out for the top prize.
Amongst them – and the bookmakers’ favourite to triumph – is Essex contestant Sonny Green. The spoken word poet has been given odds of 13/8 by William Hill to claim the £250,000 prize and land a coveted spot on the Royal Variety Performance bill.
He is one of five golden buzzer recipients amongst the finalists, who also include Matty Juniosa (singer), LMA (dance group), Liqei Yang (fire juggler), and Celestial (drone artists).
The five public vote winners are Anastasiia and Salsa (dog act), Fabian Fox (magician), Ted Hill (comedian), Rafferty Coope (magician) and The Hawkstone Farmers Choir.
Who is Sonny Green?
Sonny Green is an actor, musician, and entrepreneur from Southend-on-Sea, recognised for his appearances in BBC Scotland’s River City and feature films including Still and Our Robot Overlords, reports the Daily Star.
His music received airplay on Radio 1 and he toured alongside Pete Doherty, with both artists sharing the same manager. At just 19, he became the first rapper to perform at the House of Commons and provided support for Fatboy Slim.
He has spoken candidly about his previous struggles with alcohol and drugs and has now maintained sobriety for seven years. Speaking to the Mirror earlier this year, he revealed how he recognised change was necessary after witnessing his father Martin lose his life to addiction at just 48.
He said: “Even though my dad was struggling, he still helped so many people, who tell me how much he did for them when they were in need. I was 23 when he passed away and that was a wake-up call for me to change my life. My son was born in 2018, so it all happened at once. Before he was born, I decided to change my life, stop drinking and taking drugs, and go on the straight and narrow. Becoming a father changed my life.”
What was his BGT audition?
Introducing himself as a market trader, Sonny stepped forward for his audition with a compelling message about acceptance and unity. The sentiment was straightforward: “If you ain’t got nothing nice to say, just don’t say nothing at all…”.
The 30 year old secured four yeses from judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and KSI, alongside a standing ovation from those watching.
Cowell declared him his “favourite act of the night”.
How did he ‘bend rules’?
Sonny explained the only method of getting his two sons into the Hammersmith Apollo for the BGT semi-final was by incorporating them into his performance.
They appeared alongside their father on stage just before he received Cowell’s golden buzzer, propelling him through to the live final on ITV.
Regulations prohibiting children aged seven and under had previously prevented them from sitting in the audience to support their dad.
“The only way I could actually get them in to watch me was to include them as part of my performance,” he disclosed to BBC Essex presenter Sonia Watson.
“Then the boys could actually watch their dad perform at the Hammersmith Apollo, which was the biggest indoor event I’ve ever done.”
