Ant McPartlin crashes to the floor minutes into the Britain’s Got Talent live semi-finals

Ant McPartlin slipped and landed on his back just minutes into the live semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent. The presenter, 47, was accompanied by Declan Donnelly and the pair were on stage introducing the semi-finalists.

As the group of contestants took to the stage, Ant took a tumble and landed on his back. The presenter was left red-faced as Diversity’s Ashley Banjo helped him to get back on his feet.

The chipper Geordie laughed it off and said: "If you didn’t catch that on telly, it was quite a heavy fall!" and the judges were quick to ask if he was alright. When his co-star Dec Donnelly asked if he was OK, he replied: "I don’t know if I am OK", adding: "I think I wet myself and farted at the same time" leaving the audience in fits of giggles. Donnelly, keen to raise a laugh despite the chaos, added: “He did indeed fart.”

As the duo attempted to smoothly make their way over to the judging panel, Dec joked that Ant needed to: "mind his step". A concerned Amanda Holden asked him if his coccyx was okay before Alesha Dixon commented that she planned to rewind the clip and watch it on repeat when she gets home. Simon Cowell, who is known for his no-nonsense feedback, congratulated Ant for his spectacular entrance, joking that it was the best in the show’s history.

Many fans took to Twitter to discuss Ant’s tumble. One tweeted: “How many times will Ants fall be on blooper shows over the next few years?! That was a sore one #BGT #BritainsGotTalent @antanddec @BGT." Another joked: “Let’s get ready to tumble” alluding to Ant and Dec’s infamous pop hit ‘Let’s Get Ready to Rumble’.

Dec’s fall was not the only blunder of the night as the chaos ensued throughout the evening. Viewers were left fuming after Amanda Holden was cut off mid-speech due to a technical glitch.

The talent show judge, 52, was commenting on the dance group, United 2 Dance, but could not be heard by the viewers leaving many viewers frustrated at home. Even the effortlessly cool, calm and collected Simon Cowell looked a little foolish when he was caught on camera attempting to sip his drink through a straw but completely missed his mouth.

A bashful looking Simon attempted to conceal the gaff but viewers were keen to take to Twitter to react to his blunder. A fan tweeted: "The highlight of tonight’s show was Simon not being able to find his straw # BGT."

"Simon just created a meme with the glass/straw, I’m sure. #BGT," laughed another. After a quick perusal of Twitter we can confirm the feed is now flooded with memes.