Former Preston student Lee Ridley through to the next round of Britain's Got Talent

Lee Ridley, who performs under the name Lost Voice Guy, has cerebral palsy which has left him unable to speak.

Instead, he uses his iPad to deliver a unique comedy routine.

"Hello, my name is Lee, and for obvious reasons, I'm also known as 'Lost Voice Guy', the 37-year-old said to judge Simon Cowell.

When asked by Simon why he entered Britain's Got Talent, Lee joked: "I think I entered Britain's Got Talent for the same reason as everyone does...to meet Ant and Dec."

Newcastle-born Lee was a journalism student at UCLan between 1999 and 2002

Lee then went into his routine saying: "As you may be able to tell I'm a struggling stand up comedian who also struggles to stand up.

"To be honest, I'm not sure how good I am. I've leave that for you to decide.

"But, just so you know, if you don't laugh at the disabled guy you're going to Hell."

He added: "When I realised I was never going to be able to talk again I was speechless."

Lee got a standing ovation from judges, with David Walliams saying that Lee's performance was “one of the best stand-up routines I’ve seen – let alone on this show."

The episode, which was recorded in January, also marked Ant McPartlin's first appearance on TV screens since he was banned from the road for 20 months and fined £86,000 for driving while more than twice the legal limit earlier this week.

After McPartlin, of Chiswick, west London, was charged, ITV announced the Saturday Night Takeaway host would step back from his TV commitments, with co-presenter Declan Donnelly presenting the final two episodes of the show on his own.