Britain’s Got Talent drew 13.4 million viewers last night, with the final becoming this year’s highest rating show on TV so far.

Jules O’Dwyer and her dog Matisse won the ITV series – beating choir Cor Glanaethwy and magician Jamie Raven – with a sketch involving a tightrope and stolen sausages.

Jules later revealed the tightrope element involved a third dog, a second border collie, as well as Matisse and three-legged Skippy, as Matisse is afraid of heights.

Jules and Matisse
Jules O’Dwyer and Matisse (ITV/PA)

She told ITV show Lorraine: “Matisse is a little bit afraid of heights so although he could physically do it, Chase is the dog who says ‘I’m the action dog’. He plays the double for him.”

Dogs turned out to be a ratings success for the second time as the talent show became the highest rating final since 2012 – which was won by canine act Ashleigh Butler and Pudsey and was watched by an average of 11.9 million viewers.

Sunday night’s final drew a peak of 13.4 million viewers, a 52% share of viewing and the highest peak audience of the series.

The show averaged 11.7 million viewers and a 48% share of viewing between 7.30pm and 10.00pm, making it the highest rating programme on TV this year.

(ITV/PA)
Jamie Raven (ITV/PA)

It is the only programme on British television to go over 11 million viewers in 2015.

The 11.7 million audience is up by one million on last year’s final, which attracted 10.7 million and peaked at 12.7 million and was won by Collabro.

The 2013 final, won by Hungarian shadow dance troupe Attraction, averaged 11.1 million.

Talent
The Britain’s Got Talent judges (ITV)

ITV’s director of entertainment and comedy Elaine Bedell said: “It has been a wonderfully entertaining series from beginning to end.

“Simon, the judges, Ant and Dec and the talented production teams at Syco and Thames have triumphed again and made Britain’s Got Talent the most talked about, and most watched, television show of the year.”