Joe & Jake to represent the United Kingdom in Stockholm

Mel Giedroyc presented the programme, kicking off with last year's winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, Måns Zelmerlöw, before introducing the six songs that had made it through one of the biggest song searches the BBC has ever held to find its Eurovision entry.

Although there was an expert panel including Eurovision veterans Carrie Grant (UK 1983) and Katrina (winner for the UK in 1997) in Eurovision: You Decide the United Kingdom public made their choice with 100% televoting, and it was the duo Joe and Jake with the song You're Not Alone that received the most votes.

Meet the press

Immediately after their winning performance, Joe and Jake were quickly taken off to a press conference. The pair hadn't even had time to take calls or texts from their families, so could only imagine their reaction.

Describing the atmosphere tonight in the O2 Forum they said "it was amazing, there was so much energy, that it lifted our performance, the crowd made us want to try even harder."

As to winning the contest, "it means the world to us, we are very proud indeed, we couldn't be happier."

The paid had been praised by the judges for their chemistry on stage - "that comes down to being good friends".

Attention will turn to the all important staging of their song in Stockholm, "we want it to be a big performance, so we will see if we can pull a few tricks out our sleeves."

"We owe it to the public to try and win that trophy. It is an absolute privilege to represent the United Kingdom. Tonight has gone well and we now need to look forward."

The finalists

These were the six participating songs in order of appearance (writers between brackets):

1. Dulcima - When You Go (Tomas Twyman) 
2. Matthew James - A Better Man (Helienne Lindvall, Andrew Fromm & Peter Kvint)
3. Darline - Until Tomorrow (Roy Stride, Joshua Wilkinson, Duck Blackwell & Jack McManus)
4. Karl William Lund - Miracle (Karl William Lund)
5. Bianca - Shine A Little Light (Ash Howes, Cass Lowe, Leona Lewis & Richard Stannard)
6. Joe and Jake - You're Not Alone (Schwartz, Justin J Benson and S Kanes)

Expert Panel

Although the UK public decided the outcome, there was an expert panel on hand to make their assessment on the six finalists. They were:

• Carrie Grant: Vocal coach and television presenter. She was a member of the group Sweet Dreams that represented the United Kingdom in the 1983 contest with the song I'm Never Giving Up. She has also been a member of the UK jury at the Eurovision Song Contest.
• Katrina Leskanich: Lead singer of the group Katrina & The Waves that won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom with the song Love Shine A Light.
• Jay Revell: Stage director, actor and dancer. He was the choreographer behind the music video and stage performance of the 2015 United Kingdom entry Still In Love With You. 

Guest performers

• Måns Zelmerlöw: Winner of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden with the song Heroes.
• Katrina Leskanich: Winner of the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom with the song Love Shine A Light.

Special Tribute

There was a special tribute to the late Sir Terry Wogan, who provided the BBC commentary on radio and television between 1971 and 2008, and was co-presenter on the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest when the event was last staged in the United Kingdom in Birmingham.

Joe and Jake will represent the United Kingdom in the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest on the 14th of May in Stockholm.

Eurovision: You Decide can be watched again via our web player.

What do you think of the United Kingdom entry for 2016? Tell us below.