Britain’s Got Talent illusionist X reveals their identity

Jonathan Goodwin left fans stunned as he performed a death-defying stunt for the first time, aiming to score the £250,000 cash prize and a spot on the Royal Variety Performance.

The appearance of former X Factor judge Cheryl in the audience also had viewers talking, and speculating on whether she would be getting up on stage to sing.

But the real shock was illusionist X removing their mask to reveal their real identity – as former Britain's Got Talent semi-finalist Marc Spelmann.

Marc starred on last year's Britain's Got Talent, bringing audiences to tears with the story of his wife Tessa. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer while in the early stages of IVF after several years of struggling to conceive – but went on to defeat the illness after a gruelling round of chemotherapy and give birth to their daughter Isabella, who played a big part in Marc's act.

Marc has been with his wife for over 15 years, and has previously said the birth of their daughter gave him hope – the same word that turned out to be the answer to his final performance as X in the BGT 2019 final.

Marc's original audition was so moving that it won him Ant and Dec's Golden Buzzer – but he was eliminated in the competition's semi-finals.

So when it turned out that he was back on stage in this year's final, the judges, audience and the hosts themselves were blown away.

It had previously been reported that X would unmask himself, with a source close to BGT telling The Sun, "Everyone is speculating about the real identity of X.

"It's been kept under wraps, but he will unveil himself tonight.

"It's someone who fans of the show will know."

And that certainly turned out to be case.