'I was on Britain's Got Talent and this is the unexpected way to secure a spot on TV'

Thousands of contestants have auditioned for , but not all of them make it into the main show on ITV. The talent competition has been running since 2007 and has catapulted the likes of Paul Potts, Diversity and Susan Boyle to national stardom.

While contestants are often remembered for their show-stopping auditions, others can be recognised for showcasing rather questionable talents. But according to one user, this can be the way to ensure an audition makes it to TV.

Speaking on a forum, this person explained how a friend of theirs auditioned for Britain's Got Talent several years before and was told it would be televised if he would "deliberately" perform badly.

They wrote: "One of our friends auditioned... he's a solid singer, but I wouldn't have expected him to win or anything. Because he's a bit older and doesn't quite have the look they'd want, they told him they'd put him on TV if he'd deliberately sing badly and make a prick of himself. He told them to f**k right off, of course.

Another claimed that anyone who makes it into the main show has gone through "extensive screening" ahead of their auditions.

The person said: "An ex work colleague of mine auditioned for it. They did two auditions and failed to be selected for a TV audition. All the acts you see on TV have gone through extensive screening, which means even the terrible ones and joke acts."

One act who certainly won't be remembered for the wrong reasons is Maya Giotea, who featured in last weekend's episode. Stepping confidently onto the stage, the 14-year-old stunned the judges with her powerful take on Beyonce's Listen from Dreamgirls.

"This has been a big dream for such a long time, and I'm here. I'm here," she exclaimed before moving the crowd with her voice.

Alesha Dixon, 46, didn't hesitate to point out that Maya "picked one of the hardest songs to sing in the world", but the Romanian teenager rose to the challenge, her performance culminating in rousing applause.

As soon as the Romanian teenager concluded her performance, Bruno Tonioli, 69, struck the golden buzzer, catapulting her straight into the live semi-finals.

This led fellow judge Amanda Holden, 54, to label it "the quickest Golden Buzzer in BGT history". as she previously wowed audiences on her home country's version of the show.

She received a standing ovation for her stunning rendition of Whitney Houston's 'I Have Nothing' on Romania's Got Talent last year, where she received a golden buzzer once again.