Comic Markus Birdman hasn't made it through to the final of Britain's Got Talent.

The 52-year-old stand-up appeared on tonight's live semi-final but was beaten by dance group Ghetto Kids and singer Travis George.

Birdman spoke about his daughter's strong Essex accent – and triggered Simon Cowell's buzzer when he asked if there were any under-30s in the room.

He then returned to speaking about his stroke which left him partially blind, as he so successfully did in his audition.

After his primetime-friendly performance,  Amanda Holden bizarrely played into the language of culture wars when she said: 'For all the snowflakes and all the wokery and everything else that's out there, I applaud you because this is the way forward, not the other way.'

Speaking to host Ant McPartin after his set on the Hammersmith Apollo stage, Birdman said: 'It's beautiful to play here  thank you so much.'

There are no stand-ups on Thursday’s semi-final line-up, but comedy magician Kimoon Do is on the bill,  alongside dancer Felix Clements, virtual feline singer, theatre company Chickenshed, beatboxer MB15, musical theatre group Boycanto, aerial hoop performers Duo Odyssey and 13-year-old singer Malakai.

The final takes place on Sunday, with the winner receiving  £250,000 and a slot on the Royal Variety Performance.