Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn trounced in TV ratings battle by Britain’s Got Talent

It was the live televised battle that captivated a nation of voters.

Yes, things are really heating up in Britain’s Got Talent.

While Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn were duking it out with Jeremy Paxman last night on both Channel 4 and Sky News in The Battle for Number 10, the ITV show swept in and won the ratings battle.

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Almost three times as many viewers watched the first semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent as the political leaders’ debate.

According to initial ratings for Monday night’s television, a combined audience of 2.9 million viewers tuned in to watch the leaders’ Q and A, compared to 8.5 million for BGT.

The show, which features presenters Ant and Dec and judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams, aired for 90 minutes between 7.30pm and 9pm while The Battle for Number 10 started an hour later between 8.30 and 10pm.

Coronation Street, which aired for half an hour from 9pm, was watched by 7.3 million viewers.

The political debate peaked on Channel 4 at 3.3 million and a 15% share at 9.30pm, with an average audience of 415,000 on Sky News.

A live-stream attracted almost 190,000 viewers on Sky News’ Facebook feed and almost 50,000 on YouTube.

A similar format between then-front runners David Cameron and Ed Miliband achieved an average of 2.9m in a slightly later time slot during the 2015 general election campaign.

A peak of 9.6 million ITV viewers watched magical duo DNA and teen singer Kyle Tomlinson make it through to the Britain’s Got Talent final in the first knockout round at the expense of knife-throwing act Tyrone and Mina.

The programme was the most watched show on TV on Monday night with an average share of 38% while the results announcement at 9.30pm was viewed by 6.5m people.