Britain's Got Talent rejects Othelio hit back at Simon Cowell with debut single

But Britain's Got Talent act Othelio may have the last laugh after releasing their first single, Head Confused, which is about their time on the ITV1 show.

Craig, 41, and Debborah Stephens, 46, who are also known by their stage names Zedd and Saffire, have signed a deal with London-based Pie in the Sky Records.

They co-wrote Head Confused, which was released on Monday, with producer Kirk Turnbull – the founding member of Scottish dance music group QFX.

Turnbull, who is also a singer and songwriter, got in touch with the Portobello couple after watching their audition on Britain's Got Talent in May.

Although they reached the live shows, Cowell was less than impressed with the couple's performance.

They were dropped by programme bosses after it emerged that Mrs Stephens had been an innocent bystander when her ex-boyfriend battered two men to death in 1992.

However, after an intense week-and-a-half working on their single in Turnbull's Hawick studio last month, things are looking up for the couple.

"It's exciting, everything has happened so quickly," said Mr Stephens.

"It's an honour to work with somebody like Kirk because he knows what he is talking about."

He added: "We were in the studio for between eight and 12 hours every day, it was really tiring but it turned out fantastic.

"We are also making a cartoon video, which will be absolutely fantastic."

The couple first met Turnbull at the Gyle Shopping Centre in 2000 when they introduced themselves and exchanged numbers, but then lost contact over the years.

"When he saw us on Britain's Got Talent he said, 'that's not the real Othelio, what the hell was that, you have got better songs than that'," Mr Stephens said.

Turnbull contacted Pie in the Sky Records after watching the couple on the popular show, and the label agreed to sign them.

Craig: "It took off from there and now we have a massive publishing deal."

The pair, who have been married for 15 years and have two children together, are now busy working on their album, which they hope to release before Christmas.

Head of the label, Mark Wilson, said: "I think Othelio are original and they have got a lot of hidden talent there that is starting to come out.

"Kirk has done a lot of different stuff throughout the years and for him to put time aside for Othelio is amazing."

Mr Stephens said Head Confused had a "very retro, 80s feel", and was similar in sound to music by the Pet Shop Boys.

He added: "The single is about 150 times better than the song on Britain's Got Talent."