The Britain's Got Talent final was the most-watched TV programme on Saturday night, scoring five million more viewers than its closest competitor.
The ITV reality series culminated with pianist Tokio Myers being crowned the champion, winning the opportunity to perform at The Royal Variety Performance and a £250,000 prize.
An average of 8.2 million viewers tuned in to watch the finale when it aired from 7.30pm until 10:05pm, according to overnight data.
The audience peaked at 10.2 million in the final minutes of the show as Myers was revealed the winner.
BBC One drama Casualty was the second most-watched show of the evening, airing at 8.25pm and being viewed by 3.2 million.
Nearly half of all TV viewers in the 16 - 34 demographic tuned in to watch BGT, with 46% of those in that age range watching the show.
Musician Myers stunned the audience and judges with his eclectic performance in the grand finale, which also included drumming and spanned various styles of music.
In their comments following his performance, the judges were unanimous in their praise for him, and visiting former act Diversity added their support, calling him "the most talented person ever to have been on the show".
Following his win, judge Simon Cowell said: "As a talent, as a person, Tokio right now, this was the most important thing for him, I'm thrilled for him."
Amanda Holden said: "This feels as cool as when Diversity won."
Myers fended off competition from eight-year-old magician Issy Simpson, wildcard singer Sarah Ikumu and the hotly-tipped Missing People Choir.
The final episode of BGT had been rescheduled to air on Saturday evening rather than Sunday, so as not to clash with Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester benefit concert for the victims of the Manchester terror attack.
The British Soap Awards, which were set to be broadcast live on Saturday evening, will now be shown on Tuesday.