Can we honestly think of any other show which has landed itself more publicity this year than Britain’s Got Talent? Possibly not – and after a week’s worth of semi-finals, the anticipation for Saturday night’s final is reaching fever pitch (honestly, I have known crucial World Cup ties which have been greeted with less excitement). And what with Susan Boyle seemingly securing herself a nightly slot on News At Ten (she swears, she threatens to leave, she gets slagged off by Lily Allen – goodness, is there no real news this week?), it seems that BGT fever has well and truly taken over.

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Thursday night’s semi-final, it could be argued, was one of the best yet. Following Monday’s slightly disastrous semi, when Flawless and Shaun Smith were about the only decent acts and rightfully went through to the final, Tuesday’s was rather better, with a cracking turn from my personal favourite act Stavros Flatley. Quite why I like them so much, I have no idea, since it is intrinsically rubbish – but there’s something so utterly appealing about the father-son pairing that their act is simply brilliant.

Tuesday also saw 12-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi make it through on judges’ votes after delivering a killer version of Dreamgirls’ And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going – and it’s all credit to him that he was able to pull off such a good version of a song traditionally sung by a big theatrical diva (Jennifer Hudson sung it in the movie and won an Oscar, so you get the idea…..).

Thursday night, meanwhile, saw victory for saxophonist Julian Smith, who essentially is a slightly balder version of Kenny G but boy can the man play. He trotted out a rendition of All By Myself which left barely a dry eye in the house and once again succeeded in reducing Amanda to a misty-eyed wreck. It was no surprise to see him make it since he was clearly far superior to some of his rivals, including Jackie Prescott and her ‘tap-dancing’ dog Tippytoes, who wiggled cutely on hind legs but didn’t really do anything to rival Fred Astaire in his finest moments.

I also felt rather sorry for girlband Brit Chix, who impressed the judges in their initial audition but became only the second act of the semi-finals to be buzzed off (given the other one was Nick Hell they are in some auspicious company). To be fair their version of the Spice Girls Wannabe did come across as a bit of a racket – although the ladies looked gutted as they spiked their way off stage in their skyscraper heels.

Ultimately, the second act to make it through – and I wasn’t entirely surprised by this – were 2 Grand, a grandfather/granddaughter act who sing cutesy songs from cartoons while looking at each other devotedly. Granddad John claims to be doing it to honour the memory of his late wife, which is admirable – and if we’re being honest, he’s not the best singer in the world (granddaughter Sallie isn’t half bad on the other hand). But there’s something rather appealing and wholesome about the pair of them and it wasn’t that much of a shock to see them voted in over 12-year-old stage school kid Callum Francis (who of course has years of audition opportunities ahead of him).

Friday’s semi, meanwhile, will bring us the eight remaining acts – among them bodypopping pre-teen Aidan Davis, 10-year-old singer-ballerina Hollie Steel, camp can canners the Dreambears and guitarist Martin Macham, the man Simon Cowell claimed was so dull he ‘could close down the show’. Expect it to be a corker.