A former Britain's Got Talent champion has shared their thoughts ahead of the 2026 final on Saturday night14:54, 30 May 2026Paul Potts has revealed that Matty Juniosa is the strongest contender to win Britain's Got Talent 2026.‌Opera singer Paul, 55, won the first series of ITV's Britain's Got Talent with his performance of Nessun dorma, an aria from Puccini's opera Turandot.‌Paul, who was working as a mobile phone salesman at the time of his audition, wowed the judges and viewers at home as he was crowned the first ever Britain's Got Talent champion in 2007.‌Talking about the current series to Ready10, Paul insisted that singer Matty Juniosa, who received the golden buzzer during the semi-finals, was his favourite to win.Matty joins the likes of dog act Anastasiia and Salsa, dance group LMA, magician Fabian Fox, fire juggler Liwei Yang, comedian Ted Hill, poet Sonny Green, magician Rafferty Coope, drone art Celestial and choir The Hawkstone Farmers Choir.‌Paul said: "Matty Juniosa is the favourite for me. He’s the one everybody else must beat. The magicians have a chance if they don’t divide the vote between themselves, and Hawkstone Farmers Choir could also place highly depending on public support."The poet who performed about his son was very moving as well, although some viewers may find it slightly manipulative or preachy. I think there are several acts capable of doing well, but Matty feels like the strongest contender."The opera singer added: "In the past, being a singer was probably seen as an advantage, but I think that’s changed. Recently the show has become more focused on magicians.‌"They also get much longer performances - often close to 10 minutes - while singers might only get two and a half or three minutes if they’re lucky."I also don’t think the singers this year have been given the strongest production support. That’s one reason only two singing acts made the final.Article continues below"The production values around some performances haven’t been as good as they could have been. Matty stands out because his vocals are strong enough to cut through regardless."Sharing his final predictions, he said: "I think it’ll ultimately come down to two or three acts - probably one of the magicians, Matty, and possibly Hawkstone Farmers Choir."Britain's Got Talent the final airs tonight at 7pm on ITV and ITV X.