Singing teacher Jaz Ellington has been made 5-1 favourite by bookies to scoop BBC's The Voice crown.

The 27-year-old was among 20 acts to be put through after Saturday's battle round pitched him against Jay Norton when the pair sang a duet of Marvin Gaye's I Heard It Through The Grapevine.

But Mr Ellington, who taught at Burntwood School in Earlsfield, made it to the final with judge Will.i.am lavishing his singing talents with praise.

The Black Eyed Peas frontman told him: "You knocked us all out, but Jaz I want to take you onto the lives. You’ve got soul in a bowl, you’ve got soul on a pole."

The singing hoepful was even given a standing ovation after his rendition as he wowed viewers and the mentors to become the favourite to win the show.

Last week, Mr Ellington's version of Ordinary People by John Legend, which was actually written by Will.i.am, reduced his mentor to tears.

He dedicated the performance to his best friend Fabian Ricketts who was murdered in 2006 whose killers have never been brought ot justice.

More than 12m people watched the show at the weekend, more than a million more than ITV's rivals how Britain's Got Talent.