Britain's Got Talent: Ofcom complaints exceed 1,000

During the tightrope section of the winning act, Matisse was substituted by Chase (above)

Complaints to Ofcom regarding the stunt double dog used in the Britain's Got Talent final have exceeded 1,000.

Jules O'Dwyer and her dog Matisse won the talent show on Sunday, but it was later revealed that another dog, Chase, performed the tightrope walk section.

A spokesman for Ofcom said it had been contacted by 1,043 disgruntled viewers by Thursday afternoon.

The broadcasting watchdog said the complaints would be assessed before it decided whether to investigate.

ITV said it had separately received 165 complaints about the show.

Both O'Dwyer and judge Simon Cowell have said there was no intention to deceive the audience.

Cowell said "no one set out to fool anybody" and blamed the "confusion" of a live show for the mix up.

Speaking on Thursday, he said: "I think now the dust has settled a bit we can accept that she won."

Dog trainer Jules O'Dwyer said she had always made it clear she used a team of dogs.

Viewers complained of being "misled" after they voted for Matisse to win. Figures have shown the dog act won by a 2% margin, getting 22.6% of votes compared with 20.4% for magician Jamie Raven.

On Monday O'Dwyer said she was "shocked and surprised" by their reaction, saying she used the second border collie to walk the parallel ropes because Matisse did not like heights.

"I was disappointed when people said I allegedly hid Chase and I was trying to make it [look] like Chase was Matisse. That's not so," she said.

"I introduced Chase in the semi-final, and I said 'Chase is Matisse's best mate'. Why put the pressure on the dog when I already have another dog who can perform it on television?"

'Clearer'

ITV boss Peter Fincham has admitted Britain's Got Talent should have made the use of a stunt double "clearer".

Fincham said those who had followed the series would have known O'Dwyer had more than one dog.

"In the audition it was made quite clear this was a dog act with a range of dogs.

"In hindsight, in the final it would have been better if that was clear."

The show's producers have also apologised: "We are sorry if this was not made clearer to the judges and the viewers at home during their final performance."

More than 13 million viewers watched the final, the highest rating for a final since Pudsey the dog won in 2012.

Matisse and O'Dwyer's prize includes a spot performing at this year's Royal Variety Performance and £250,000.