Britain's Got Talent winner celebrates victory in a pub

Britain's Got Talent winner Sydnie Christmas has said she celebrated her triumph in a Wetherspoons pub because she "needed a pint".

The singer and gym receptionist became emotional as presenters Ant and Dec revealed she had won the £250,000 prize, as well as a spot on the bill at the Royal Variety Performance.

Her victory followed a powerhouse performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

An average audience of 5.2 million watched the final, according to overnight figures - a strong performance in today's terrestrial landscape, but lower than earlier series.

After her name was called as winner, Christmas went to celebrate, telling ITV's This Morning on Wednesday: "We needed a pint and we needed it now. I love a Wetherspoons!"

Asked if she remembered the moment she was crowned winner, she said: "Not really! I just remember shutting my eyes and then just punching the air, like I'd scored a try at a rugby match. I just couldn't believe my life."

Christmas was the last to perform during the live final and said: "I was pacing... I was watching it, I was clapping, I went in to watch Innocent [Masuku, operatic tenor].

"Absolutely amazing, it made me sob. I had to get my make-up sorted out. I was like, 'How am I going to go on now?'. It was so good, everyone was amazing."

Discussing how she came up with her song choice after performing My Way in the semi-finals, she said: "It's so difficult because all my efforts went into My Way to try and make that the way that it was, and we created it, and then really luckily got through to the final and then you have three days to whip up a song.

"BGT helped me and when they said that version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, I was like, 'I can't do that' because that's Loren Allred's version and she is my idol.

"Obviously, you put your own kiss on it and your own way. Loren was so supportive, I got a video from Loren and I sobbed, this is a ride I don't want to get off of."

Christmas added that she "can't wait" to perform at the Royal Variety Performance for the King Charles but said she has "not a clue" what the future holds.

Nuclear engineer-turned-magician Jack Rhodes, who put on a "lie detector" hat during his routine, was told by head judge Simon Cowell that he had a shot at winning, but ended up as this year's runner-up.

In third place were Ghanaian dancing duo Abigail and Afronitaaa, who were told the "entire audience" had fallen in love with them after their high-octane dance performance.

They performed to a medley of songs, which included popular Afrobeats track Antenna by Fuse ODG.