With Ant and Dec reunited on screen on Saturday night, Britain's Got Talent scooped the highest overnight audience of the year, ITV has revealed.
Viewers warmly welcomed the popular presenting duo as the new series of the talent show got under way on Saturday night.
And it proved an emotional return with their fans taking to social media to share their delight that Ant McPartlin - who had been off-screen following his drink driving conviction - was back with Declan Donnelly .
It helped secure the channel a whopping audience, beating last Sunday's return of Line Of Duty, which had been holding the top ratings spot for the year.
Britain's Got Talent was said to have averaged 8.1m viewers, peaking at 9.7m and earning a whopping 50% share of the viewing audience.
The show featured its usual eclectic line-up of variety performances, such as a surprise audition by the 'Queen '.
Other acts included The Vardanyan Brothers acrobats; an 18-year-old opera singer; a mum turned musical comedian, and a Welsh all-male group called the Cofis, who performed with metal plates and dishes attached to their crotches.
Ant McPartlin close to tears on Britain's Got Talent as little girl says she 'missed him'
