Damon Scott's monkey duet saw him get to the final

Contestants are hoping to impress viewers as well as a panel of judges as they aim for a �100,000 prize and a place in the Royal Variety Performance.

Damon Scott's duet with a monkey puppet saw him join operatic vocalist Paul Potts in Sunday's final.

The semi-final dominated TV viewing figures, drawing an audience of 7.8m.

By comparison Channel 4's Big Brother, which ran against the ITV show in the 2100 to 2200 BST time slot, only drew 2.3m viewers.

After 2200 BST, the talent show reached an audience high of 8.9m, more than 40 per cent of the audience share.

On Wednesday the show beat the final of hit BBC One show The Apprentice.

Britain's Got Talent, the brainchild of X Factor judge Simon Cowell, drew 7.1m against 6.8m viewers for The Apprentice.

Despite the final result, Cowell backed teenage singer Dominic Smith in Thursday's semi-final.

'You're that guy'

Scott had initially received mixed reviews from Cowell and fellow judges Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden, but a public vote made them opt for him over 14-year-old Smith.

But it was mobile phone salesman Paul Potts who scored the most public votes and impressed the judges.

Singer Paul Potts is hoping to escape his sales job

The 36-year-old said: "I have to win this competition to ensure I don't end up going back to the day job."

Judge Morgan said he had wanted to find somebody who had an ordinary job, but had an extraordinary talent.

"You're that guy," he said.