BRITAIN'S Got Talent has produced some iconic winners over the years, such as Diversity and Pudsey the dog.
As the programme returns for its 16th series this Saturday, we will be introduced to a bevy of contestants hoping to make a name for themselves.
But as the saying goes, it is not always about winning.
Some of the biggest rejects of the ITV show have gone on to trump acts that walked away with the crown.
Simon Cowell will be joined by long-time fellow judges Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and the panel's latest addition, Bruno Tonioli who will be scouting the country to uncover unsung talents.
Amanda Holden hits the beach in her New Year's Eve outfit after partying
But before then, we look at some of the show's rejects who ended up becoming megastars without Britain's Got Talent's backing.
Global megastar
He may be a global superstar after his debut album, Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent topped the charts and went platinum around the world.
But before the fame, Lewis Capaldi, 26, auditioned for Britain's Got Talent when he was trying to find his footing in the music industry - but was ghosted.
In an Heart Breakfast interview with Amanda Holden in 2019, he told her: "I did go on Britain’s Got Talent, Amanda.
"I went on Britain’s Got Talent and I went to the auditions, and I went up and I sang White Blank Page by Mumford & Sons.
"And then I got a phone call saying, 'Lewis that was great we’re going to put you through, and we’re going to try and hurry it through.'
"Then I never received another phone call again."
Realising the mistake the producers had made, a stunned Amanda exclaimed: "OMG we turned down Lewis Capaldi. Can you imagine?"
Today, he has four UK number ones to his name and has found success across the pond with his single Someone You Loved, which topped the US charts.
Love Island winner
Paige Turley is now known for winning the first-ever winter edition of Love Island alongside her boyfriend Finn Tapp.
Amanda Holden strips off to white bikini ahead of return to radio show
But before coming a reality darling, she had hopes of becoming a pop star and auditioned for Britain's Got Talent in 2012, like her ex Lewis Capaldi.
Paige, 25, impressed the judges and soared to the semi-final before she was booted off.
Determined to find fame, she sent in an audition for Love Island and ended up winning the show, where she met her boyfriend Finn Tapp.
Now, she's one of the most successful influencers to come out of the ITV dating show with 1.6million followers on Instagram and countless brand endorsements.
Dancing king
In 2013, AJ Pritchard, 28, and his professional dance partner Chloe Hewitt appeared on the show when they were only 18 and 17.
They made it all the way through to the semi-finals before getting the axe - but since then, AJ has had a massively successful career.
For four years from 2016, he was signed as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, which airs on BBC One, ITV's main rival.
Although he chose to leave in 2020, his popularity on the show has led to opportunities to star in popular shows such as Celebrity MasterChef, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, and an acting stint on Hollyoaks.
He also has hundreds of thousands of fans following him on Instagram and TikTok.
Reality superstar
In 2009, while aged 16, Megan McKenna's dream of becoming a pop star led her to Britain's Got Talent as part of the duo, Harmony, alongside her friend Demi.
Although the pair wowed the judges with their performance, they didn't make it past the semi-finals.
These days, Megan, 30, has become a superstar in the world of reality TV and has been on The Only Way is Essex, Ex on The Beach, and Celebrity Big Brother.
In 2017, she even had her own reality show, There's Something About Megan, and won The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019.
Looking back on her time on Britain's Got Talent in a 2019 interview, she agreed she was not ready for the big time.
She told Loose Women: "We were young, I was 16, and we didn’t actually think we were going to get as far as we did but we got through to the semi-finals.
"I think getting that taste of being in the TV industry and singing live and stuff was like 'I just want this so bad'. But it’s taken me so long, it’s so difficult."
But Megan hasn't given up her pop star ambitions - she's released a string of singles, has even topped the iTunes chart, and performed in Glastonbury last year.
History maker
In 2015, Sheku Kenneh-Mason captured the hearts of the nation when he auditioned for Britain's Got Talent alongside his musical siblings.
They made it to the semi-finals and played a classical rendition of pop songs before they were booted off.
The 24-year-old cellist had an epic bounce back, however, and was crowned 2-16's BBC Young Musician of the Year, becoming the first black musician to get the honour.
He also received a ton of attention when he performed at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding in 2018.
Sheku's string of good fortune continued in 2020 when he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to music.
Leading man
Although he received a mixed bag of comments throughout his time on the show, Charlie Wernham made it to the semi-finals in 2008.
After his taste of fame, he began attending weekend classes at the Sylvia Young Theatre School and soon landed a role on an episode of The Inbetweeners.
He soon got a role in E4's School of Comedy before becoming a regular in Bad Education alongside Jack Whitehall.
Charlie, 28, even rose to co-lead the show with Layton Williams for its fourth season and played Aaron Monroe on EastEnders for 36 episodes.
Soap star
Shaheen Jafargholi, 26, was only 12 years old when he made it all the way to the finals of BGT and finished in seventh place in 2009.
He performed Michael Jackson's 1969 hit Who's Loving You and was later invited by the King of Pop's family to sing the song at his funeral memorial service.
Before his death in 2009, Michael had planned to perform the song with Shaheen in his This Is It concerts, which was set to begin before his untimely death.
Since then, Shaheen joined EastEnders in 2016, playing the role of Shakil Kazem.
After the character was killed off in 2018, he joined the cast of Casualty as nurse Marty Kirkby and bowed out of the role last month.
Runner up to movie star
After getting a unanimous positive vote, a 14-year-old funnyman Jack Caroll sailed through to the finals of Britain's Got Talent in 2013.
He finished up as the runner-up, with 42.5 per cent of the public vote.
After the popularity he got from the show, Jack, who has cerebral palsy, transitioned to acting and appeared in BBC One's Big School, alongside David Walliams and Catherine Tate.
In 2019, the 24-year-old made his movie debut with the critically acclaimed comedy film, Eaten By Lions.
Since then, Jack has also made appearances in Father Brown and Doctors.
King of downloads
In 2015, Calum Scott had a rather awkward start to his Britain's Got Talent journey when he watched his sister, Jade, get rejected by the judges before he took to the stage himself.
The 34-year-old ex-HR worker managed to reach the final but finished in sixth place.
After the show, he independently released his single, Dancing On My Own, which reached number two on the singles charts and went on to be certified platinum after selling 600,000 copies.
His collaboration with Leona Lewis, You Are the Reason was released ahead of his debut album and became a global hit.
Calum's body of work has now had hundreds of millions of downloads.
Huge following
Izzy Judd was part of the group, Escala, who impressed the judges with their electronic string skills back in 2008.
They got to the final but lost out to George Sampson.
In 2012, she married McFly star Harry Judd - she played in the strings section backing his band, McFly.
She's now gained a huge following on Instagram and has shared her experience and struggles with IVF - the couple have three children together.
