If you look back on the last weeks shows ....the vast majority of winners have come from the last 4.

I wonder how they actually decide the line up? is it random pick out of a hat (which they should do) or do they decide (ie who they like the most and want to progress)....tbh this year they want a singer to win its quite obvious to me......

3 out of the last 4 years its been a dance act (inc enchanted in that sorta

Simon wants someone that can sell records this year as another dance act wouldnt work for him in general....just the impression i get.....will be interesting to see therefore which contestants go on near the end ...and which are fresh in audiences minds when they vote!!!

Random? It's totally decided by Cowell and the producers in order to manipulate their desired result.

Who goes through to the final? They decide....the voting public are just pawns in their game.

Any way Cowell wants.

As well as the various conspiracy theories, there are production reasons, eg that if an act ends with, say, a confetti cannon, that act has to be before a commercial break to give them time to hoover it up.

Agreed.

Oh for the innocent days of Pop Idol and the ITV2 show where each week the remaining contestants drew lots to find out their position in the running order for the following week are long gone.....

They fight it out in a pool of corn and oil... I thought everyone knew that... then The Cowell steps in and changes it all.

Although the way this series has gone, every act performs just before a commercial break!

The X Factor forum is always full of people claiming it's fixed for the acts in the final "pimp" slot and the cannon fodder is up first. With X Factor there may be something in it at the start of the run of live shows when there are around 16 contestants, but towards the end and in the final you're less likely to forget the act on first.

Performing last does seem to do well for BGT acts but I don't 100% buy into the conspiracy theories. That said, I fully expect to see Ronan or Razy in that slot!

Put it this way, the first two/three acts on BGT tonight will be up against BBC1's half season cliffhanger finale of Dr Who, so they will be at a even great disadvantage than usual.

Indeed!

Total agreement from me

It's in alphabetical order.. but Simon changed the alphabet this afternoon.. now it's x,y,z then p for Parke.

Played havoc with my keyboard.

It's mainly based on production reasons, things like lighting and rigging needed to be rearranged and moved around.

Another thing is that dancers are all the same, so if two acts both have two large sets of backing dancers they won't be next to each other in the line up, they'll be separated by a break or at different parts of the show to get the dancers time to rest and change.

Plus, the times of the breaks are regulated by Ofcom, which impacts when how long each segment is and where certain acts may be able to fit in.

And then after all that where there exists any options you want to organise the acts to make the best shows.

For example, you don't want all the singers one after the other.

The reason why those at the end go through isn't because they're they at the end but because they're good, and they're at the end because they're good. Ronan, New Bounce, etc would've always gone through whenever they performed (see Diversity). They were put at the end however because they're popular and people want to see them.

Usually you want to:

Start with a bang, big fast paced act to get the show going. - Girls Roc, Two and Half Men, Circus of Horrors, Dance Angels, Marwa, Steven

Then the filler: Jessica, Mr and Mrs, Antionio, Herbit, Nathan, Stuart

Then the good acts: Roonan, David, Ed, Razy, etc

How do we know at the semi final stage which acts will be "popular" with the public if there are 40 of them who have progessed from the audition stage? Do you mean popular with Simon Cowell and the producers?

I bet you anything Ronan will perform either last or second to last. And right before an ad break if possible.

It's how they'll boost his chances of winning.

Odds, forums, polls and feedback from focus groups

I second that Ronan is in the lucky winning position. It's all rigged for him to win the competition

In protest, we should not watch any Simon Cowell show again.

On paper Ronan will probably be towards the end of maximise ratings, but I reckon he'll be more in the middle of the show

Him winning is irrelevant. Look at Susan Boyle. All they needed was for him to make the final

Which have already been strongly influenced by how these acts were portrayed at the audition stage by the production team.

It's obvious that annoying kid Ronan will be the last act tonight. Simon does want him to win. It is a fix!!

Praying he doesn't win - personally think hes crap.

Of course, but if you want to be like that why stop there?

The people that even made it to the auditions were the ones chosen by the production team, limiting the acts which the public can only ever be popular about.

Oh.

Well maybe there isn't some conspiracy to get Ronan to win

This is good for Razzy. Bet Razzy gets the last spot now.

Ronan isn't that great. Really average and not a very good song. Quite sure he won't win now.

Looking at who is left, New Bounce or Jai will be on last:

It'll be:

Jean
Jai/NB
Razy
Jai/NB

As for which one, I imagine NB will be doing a big production so that'll mean they'll be last as otherwise you'd have NB and Jean (also doing a big production I imagine) sharing the same slot which wouldn't work as there'd be no time to switch the stage

Well if you get caught nicking sweets then you don't chew wine gums for a few days..

On XFactor if you are act no 1 on live show no 1 then you may as well just walk off stage and catch the early bus home.

also on Eurovision the acts later on in the show generally do better.