After a number of nail-biting performances in the final magician Richard Jones was announced to be the victor, beating singer Wayne Woodward who came in a close second.
Speaking to Ant and Dec during Saturday night's live final, the star said he was in a state of shock as he went on to thank his friends and family for supporting and voting for him
'It's been an amazing experience to spend time with such talented people,' he gushed, as his fellow competitors surrounded him on stage to kick-start the final celebrations.
Meanwhile, Simon Cowell's golden buzzer act Boogie Storm came in third, closely followed by Jasmine Elcock, Beau Dermott, Craig Ball, Trip Hazard, 100 Voices of Gospel, Alex Magala, Balance Unity, Shannon and Peter and Mel and Jamie.
The 25-year-old army bandsman finally claimed victory after wowing the judges with a sensational magic trick, that saw him narrate the touching story of the 97-year-old war veteran who first inspired him to take up magic.
While he moved the audience with the war veteran's life story, he performed a trick with a special deck of cards and brought tears to the eyes of the judges and many watching at home.
After the trick, performed against the backdrop of a Union Jack flag, Richard had the flag whisked away to reveal the Second World War veteran himself, Fergus Anckorn.
Mr Anckorn, who was held as a prisoner-of-war as a young man, was dubbed 'the conjurer of the River Kwai' as his passion for magic helped him endure the horrors of the Burma railway.
Thanks to his tricks he kept the Japanese guards distracted and entertained, so they allowed him to have extra food rations and longer breaks for himself and his friends - a lenience that most likely saved their lives.
It was his remarkable story that inspired Jones, himself a serving soldier with the Household Cavalry, to become a magician.
As Jones wowed the audience with his skills and the emotional appearance of Mr Anckorn on the stage, TV judge Alesha Dixon was even brought to the point of tears.
'Oh my goodness, Richard. That was so incredible, poignant, noble, brilliantly British. I just loved everything about that,' she gushed after the performance.
But, although also seemingly deeply impressed by the performance, fellow judge Amanda Holden seemed to have other things on her mind.
She coquettishly revealed to 97-year-old Fergus that her single grandmother was in the audience, and suggested that she would even be interested in setting the pair of them up.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday before he went on stage last night, Jones said: ‘I am so excited about it. I might even get emotional. It’s very personal to me. He inspired me to become a magician.’
The magician who went into the live final as the bookies’ favourite, also revealed he might quit the Army if he now gets an ‘amazing’ job offer – such as a TV show or West End run.
And he hit back at critics who claimed he had ripped off tricks from the late Paul Daniels.
He said the contentious illusion that he performed in an earlier heat dates back hundreds of years, but ‘I added so much to it to make it my own. Paul did his version and I did mine.
‘All tricks derive from, and are inspired by, other magic tricks.'
The controversial star was previously accused of stealing tricks from fellow magicians after a former America's Got Talent contestant pointed out the similarities between one of his tricks and the one performed by Richard during Tuesday's semi-final.
The former soldier's trick saw him rip apart a copy of Amanda's autobiography, No Holden Back, before 'reading the mind' of judge Alesha to guess the word she had been thinking of.
He correctly identified she had been thinking of 'bottom' which he proved by burning the word into a page from Amanda's book.
However, American magician Collins Key claimed the stunt was a rip-off of one of his own, saying: 'It is flattering when another performer imitates my work
'I have worked hard to create a unique innovative style that elevates our art to new heights and to create something that has a meaningful connection with my audience.
'That being said, I will leave the decision of whether it is right or wrong, what Richard Jones is doing, to the BGT judges and even more importantly to the public.'
Elsewhere in the show David Walliams went one step too far as he angered Amanda Holden to such an extreme that she ended up chucking a full glass of water into his face.
Following Beau Dermott's heartfelt rendition of Defying Gravity, Amanda was full of emotion as she praised the young star for her performance.
David also showered the talented teenager with compliments, but couldn't resist quipping: 'It's Amanda's final year on the show and it is a lovely way to send her off...'
But the funnyman couldn't get any further with his comments as Amanda leapt up and proceeded to chuck her glass of water into his grinning face.
But David took it all in his stride as he sighed: 'never seen that before!' no doubt referring to Sharon Osbourne's water swilling ways made famous on The X Factor.
The star is used to winding up his fellow judges, and previously accused Alesha Dixon of drinking during the Britain's Got Talent semi-finals.
He was up to his old tricks again as he joked that the contents of her glass should be checked during Saturday night's final.
His sassy comments followed Alexandr Magala's nerve-inducing act - that was so terrifying it had to be pre-recorded.
After the judges watched him perform handstands whilst swallowing a sword and slide down a pole face first into a chainsaw, the group were in such a state of shock that Amanda Holden claimed she needed a drink.
Holding up her mug, the blonde beauty sighed: 'I really wish this was gin...' as David quickly interjected: 'Check Alesha's glass!'
Rolling her eyes, the former Mis-teeq singer squealed: 'Don't start this again!' as they collapsed in a fit of giggles.
David first inferred that Alesha was drinking on the job during Wednesday night's semi-final when she alarmed her fellow judges with her erratic
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