The death-defying talent show acts that went horribly wrong on air

Attempting a never-before-seen act live on TV is a risky business at the best of times, but when competitors take it up a level and attempt death-defying stunts, it becomes nothing short of dangerous.

And while audiences right across the world have witnessed some history-making feats, there have been a few that have gone horribly wrong – with contenders narrowly escaping serious injury.

From a trapeze act’s dramatic fall on stage, to a woman accidentally shooting her fiance in the neck with an arrow, there have been some huge fails that have left families worldwide on the edge of their seats.

Here, we look at some of the most memorable through the years:

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Part of the fun of tuning into America’s Got Talent is never knowing what to expect, and on a recent episode this year, an acrobatic couple known as Duo Transcend caused a major panic when their daring trapeze act involving fire and blindfolds went terribly wrong.

Husband and wife duo Tyce Neilsen and Mary Wolfe-Nielsen took to the stage to impress the judges, with Tyce hanging upside-down from the ceiling and pulling his partner up to him with incredible strength.

At one point, Tyce could be seen holding Mary by her head as she performed the splits mid-air. Next, the performance became more dangerous when fire began lighting up the stage. Mary was dangling from her husband’s arms as all this was happening.

Read more: Horror as trapeze act falls in dramatic ‘America’s Got Talent’ performance

However, it went very wrong as Mary was meant to be caught my Tyce, but as she fell from a rope, she slipped and plunged to the stage below. The judges began screaming as the camera cut to their two-year-old son and his grandmother, who were watching on in horror from the live studio audience.

Tyce was left hanging from the roof, while judges could be heard asking if Mary was okay. Remarkably, she got up off the floor and smiled at the audience. Despite the mishap, the judges gave the couple a standing ovation.

Meanwhile, it’s not the only 2018 act to have left audiences gobsmacked, as an escapologist on Britain’s Got Talent required an emergency response on stage mid-way through his act.

Matt Johnson had made it through to the semi-final of the show when he attempted to put himself through ‘hell on earth’ on stage – and achieved exactly that.

After admitting on camera that there was a “good chance” he could die, he stood on stage and allowed himself to be locked into a steel straight jack secured with padlocks, which was clamped around the chest and had a clear box around his head secured with two more padlocks.

As if that wasn’t enough, he also had two chains around his body and secured to his wrists with handcuffs. His aim was to escape with a single lock pick before the tank round his head filled with water.

However, as time ticked on he began flailing his arms around prompting paramedics to rush on to stage to release him – before he was seen panting out of breath at the end, leaving the judges clutching their chests in shock. Luckily, he was okay following the terrifying stunt.

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Both of the 2018 acts have competition from stuntman and sword swallower Ryan Stock, who appeared on the America’s Got Talent quarter finals in 2016 with his fiancee Amber Lynn Walker.

He had impressed the judges throughout with a series of stunts, but his final one saw him swallow a long rod with a small target on the end, before bending down towards his fiancee.

She stood in front of him with a flaming arrow, before shooting it at the target. However, it went very wrong when she missed and it hit his throat instead – causing him to reel back in shock. As the judges immediately leapt up, he quickly reassured everyone he was uninjured.

Despite his assurances, Simon Cowell insisted he get medical attention, saying: “Why are we judging this act? Amber just shot Ryan and he needs to go to a hospital now! I’m being serious.”

Host Nick Cannon later assured viewers that Stock was examined and appeared to be fine.

A few years earlier, it was judge Simon Cowell who very nearly left the stage with a nasty injury, as he was welcomed up to take part in youngster Edward Pinder’s knife-throwing show.

The 11-year-old circus performer began his audition by throwing sharp knives at a large target with a woman stood in the middle, narrowly missing her and managing to hit each one perfectly.

Full of confidence, Simon then stepped on stage to replace her – but seemingly letting the pressure get to him, Edward missed his mark for the first time.

The knife bounced off the board and reverberated straight in to the famous judge’s arm, luckily not leaving any lasting damage. The shocked music mogul quickly scarpered off stage, while the judges and audience all reacted with groans and shouts, before laughing in relief that he’d escaped unscathed.

However, none of them were quite as shocking as the moment a contestant dropped down on to a knife mid-act, prompting judge Amanda Holden to run off stage in disgust.

Mike Henderson appeared on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009 to show off his incredible strength and balancing abilities with a series of sharp knives.

As he slowly pulled himself up into a handstand, while balancing himself on two wobbly knives, he attempted to keep himself steady over a third knife – which was pointing directly up at his mouth.

Just as he was about to drop down, he appeared to lose his balance and slip, dropping quickly so the knife went up inside his mouth. The entire panel of judges screamed in shock as Amanda ran away, before he slowly pushed himself back up again – proving he was in fact okay.

What is the most memorable stage fail you’ve ever seen?