Britain's Got Talent returns to our screens with Ant & Dec at the helm

More than 10m viewers tuned in to watch the return of ITV1's 'Britain's Got Talent' on Saturday night with Ant & Dec at the helm again.  This was the highest opening audience figures for the series to date, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The stand out performance came from Susan Boyle who astonished the judges at the auditions with her rendition of I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables. On arrival on the stage,  Susan's eccentricty did not endear her to the crowd however as soon as she started singing, there was spontaneous applause from the whole theatre

Her story invites comparisons with Paul Potts, the unassuming mobile phone salesman who won the first series of Britain's Got Talent in 2007. He has become the most internationally successful reality show winner in history, scoring a number one album in 15 countries.

Other incredible performances included 'flawless' - a dance act who drew a standing ovation from Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan who are the judges once again.

The winner of 'Britain's Got Talent' will get to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in front of the Queen, emulating previous winners such as Paul Potts and George Sampson and the Red Hot Chilli Pipers who won 'When will I Be Famous'