'This has changed my life!'

Comedy musician Jon Courtenay has won this year's Britain’s Got Talent final.

When asked how he felt, the e self-confessed ‘piano man with bad dad jokes' said: ‘Please don't ask me to speak!’

The 47-year-old added: ‘Thank you, this has changed my life, my family's life. My mum - I can't imagine how you're coping right now, I hope you're still alive!'  

Courtenay was 11/8 favourite to take the title – plus £250,000 cash prize and a spot on the Royal Variety Performance –  going into the final.

His songs have charted his progress through the competition, and he said: 'This morning for the first time, this sounds really dramatic, but I woke up with an idea for a song for the Royal Variety performance.

'I wrote it down and I tried not to think of it as a sign, because that would be too much pressure, but... Just amazing, I can't actually believe it.'

Here's the performance that won it for him tonight:

Courtenay is the first golden buzzer act to win the competition, having secured his place in the semi after winning the coveted nod from hosts Ant and Dec.

Comedy juggler Steve Royle came third tonight, while stand-up Nabil Abdulrashid also made the final. All acts recorded their final performances last night for safety reasons, before being put to the viewers’ vote. 

Abdulrashid's routine included jokes about viewers who complained  Diversity's Black Lives Matter-inspired dance routine earlier in the series, quipping that he was just surprised the racists could write.

Published: 10 Oct 2020