Britiain's Got Talent winners Ashleigh and Pudsey next to the anti-circus ad they feature in for PETA

Britain’s Got Talent winners Ashleigh and Pudsey have launched a campaign to stop wild animals being used in circuses.

The performing duo - 17-year-old Ashleigh Butler and her canine sidekick – appear in a new anti-circus ad.

The bleak ad from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) shows a different side to the usually bubbly duo, as Ashleigh portrays a sombre clown while Pudsey sits next to her dressed as a battered lion.

The caption reads: “The Saddest Show on Earth – Get Wild Animals Out of the Circus!”

Ashleigh and Pudsey unveiled the ad in person in Westminster.

Ashleigh said: “I was shocked to learn the full extent of how some animals are treated in the circus and the beatings they endure to perform tricks.

“Pudsey loves performing, but I find it disgusting that people resort to violence and some of the wild animals suffer for the sake of so-called ‘entertainment.”

Ashleigh and Pudsey have joined major animal welfare groups and veterinary bodies in calling for a ban on wild animals in circuses.