Simon Cowell's latest vitriol vehicle hit our screens this weekend under the steadying hand of frontmen Ant & Dec, and even Cowell was surprised (judging by his facial expressions) at the number of times it wasn't vituperation that was called for but veneration. For some of the acts presented in the first two days of this 9-nine celebration of the best (and it has to be said, the worst) that Britain can bring to a stage were truly awesome and a number of them were also quite moving.

I admit I missed Saturday's show (I forgot BGT was starting this weekend and failed to set the vid when we went out to a garden party) but I managed to catch many of the best acts yesterday afternoon on YouTube, especially opera guy (yes, you really can search YouTube for "opera guy" and find him), who sent shivers down the spine with his rendition of Nessun Dorma; the ventriloquist with his Monkey (Bubbles) who did a pant-wettingly funny impersonation of Michael Jackson and a troupe of young dancers with alarming face paint who performed one of the most energetic joint-popping moves I've ever seen.

Sunday's show also had a fair crop of winners: another stonking dance troupe - Kombat Breakers - provided not only breathtaking entertainment but as Simon said, a fine role model for all young people; 14-year-old Dominic Smith with a wonderful a cappela version of Unchained Melody; Charlotte and Luke - who had to be some of the youngest contestants - wowed the audience with a fabulous ballroom dance; and as novelty acts go they don't come much more novel than "angle grinder" Victoria Armstrong. "I was pole dancing one night when they asked for people to dance with a grinder for three hundred quid and I thought 'I'll have some of that!'" Piers Morgan was a definite fan, barely able to disguise the drool leaking from the corners of his mouth as he voted yes - "I'd like to see more of you." Yes, Piers, we know exactly what you mean.

But they saved the sobbiest of sob stories for the end. Mike Garbutt, who learned his stage craft as a boy watching his Dad perform the Northern club circuit as a comic. Dad doesn't perform now - he has Parkinson's - but Mike has picked up the torch and trying his hand at comedy, this time as an impressionist. And he was bloody good too. It's very hard to make an impression (sorry!) as an impressionist in a world filled with the likes of John Culshaw, Ronnie Ancona and Rory Bremner, but this guy has it too. Funny and talented, and also moved to the point of speechlessness by the idea that, just possibly, his Dad will get the chance to see him perform at the Royal Variety show.

Amanda Holden has been a revelation as a judge, too. Loved her in Cutting It, but somehow I never expected her to be much cop on a panel. Contrarily, she wears her heart on her face - every possible emotion flicking across it as the acts parade in front of her. Once or twice moved almost to tears by the acts, her comments have been witty, fluent and on the money. A great asset to the show.

But what makes the show for me, quite apart from the fact that it has moved away from the jaded and restricted format of shows like the X Factor - retaining the good bits but expanding the entertainment to include everything you can possibly think of - is that everyone on there has a dream. True, many of them are deluded. I think the producers have to include a percentage of these losers so that we don't go away with the idea that there's a new Darcy Bussell on every street corner, and so that the panel get the chance to use their buzzers. But the winners. Wow. In many cases these are not people who perform for a living, but they have a dream. They nurture the dream. They prepare, they train, they practice and they keep alive that burning flame of desire to succeed in an industry full of mediocrity, back-handers and sleaze. And then a show like this comes along and gives them a chance to shine, and instead of just shining they BLAZE onto the stage and knock everyone's socks off. The audience reaction to some of the acts we've seen over the past two days cannot be faked. They were as blown away live as we were through the gogglebox. And there's more to come. The final will be amazing and whoever wins, Her Majesty is in for a treat come RVP night.

Britain's Got Talent continues on ITV1 for 7 more nights.