So the most talked about televised debate in British history has finally taken place and it was one that had a few surprises. Labour, The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats leaders all went head-to- head for one and a half hours live on TV. Although it didn't quite live up to the hype that had surrounded it, although let's face it, unless Gordon Brown rammed his glass into David Cameron's face or Nick Clegg stripped naked and ran round the studio shouting "chase me I'm a Unicorn" it was never going to.

While there was no real Obama-esque true moment of soundbite genius from any candidate there was a lot to admire- and criticise. The big winner on the night was Liberal Democrat leader Clegg, or "the other one" as one First Time Voters Question Time audience member referred to him recently. Clegg went from the least known candidate to the most admired one, in the sort of 90- minute performance that's not been seen since Lionel Messi destroyed Arsenal.

Clegg's performance was superb, although he did have the advantage of having his opponents say "I agree with Nick" almost every other question. The question on many voter's minds now is can the Liberal Democrats actually win? A few weeks, well even a few hours ago, that seemed about as likely as Cameron and  Brown agreeing with each other but after last night's debates it's no so far-fetched.

Brown on the other hand seemed to be the real loser in the debate who needed a strong performance to try and catch Cameron up in the polls. To be fair to Brown he was up against it from the start as the incumbent and the man who had to defend himself more often than his opposing debaters did. Questions ranging from the National Health Service, crime, carers of the elderly and everyone's favourite topic- the economy- were fired at the contestants- sorry 'candidates', contestants makes it sound likes some form of game show: "Nick Clegg, its' the right answer, you've just won 62, 000 pounds!"

Brown had the uneviable task of explaining why he hadn't already done what he was now promising to do, and many of the questions which were asked by audience members had an air of criticism about them, such as "do you think the soldiers in Afghanistan have the proper equipment" which can be taken as "why dont the soldiers in Afghanistan have the proper equipment?"

Although on nearly every question asked the Prime Minister had some form of statistic to back up how his government had performed well, it often didn't seem to be as effective as some of the answers his opponents gave.  Brown did score a couple of admittedly small - laughs by thanking Cameron for the Tories poster campaign -which features Brown smiling- and also for criticising Cameron's own airbrushed image.

It wasn't that Brown performed particularly badly- it's just that with the Tories ahead in the polls, he failed to really show the nation that we are better off with him than with Cameron. It was almost a draw between the two main party leaders and Brown knows that if you're behind someone, you don't catch them up by being equal.

While Brown's performance suffered from what many have criticised him for in the past, a lack of personality- or at least being able to properly convey it, Cameron made sure he wasn't going to make the same mistakes.

My own personal Cameron highlight, was answering a question about the NHS, while Brown had mentioned statistics and sounded very authoriative, or boring depending on your point of view, Cameron seized on the opportunity to praise the NHS then speak of his own personal experiences- when he lost his child. All very personal, very clever and very effective- cynics may even call it very calculated.

Cameron also went a litle OTT at times as well though, claiming how he's met a: "40 year-old black man who served in the Navy for 30 years who was against immigration."

Now I'm no professor Stephen Hawkings but unless the armed services in Britain have started recruiting children those figures just don't add up. Also mentioning the fact that a person against immigration is black is just lazy and pointless.

Cameron also blundered slightly by placing China in with Iran when it comes to a potential nuclear threat- not really the best idea to insult  potentially one of the biggest new markets that may become available to Britain in the future.

All this is pretty irrelevant though as the night belonged to Clegg. He seemed to grow in confidence and stature as the eveing wore on, his answers were a good mix of the personal, and the practical. He spoke of how he'd met people who had concerns about certain subjects, without the falseness that Cameron sometimes coveys or the coldness one can associate with Brown. Clegg was also able to seem almost Bill Clinton- like in the way he seemed to connect with members of the audience and move around slightly on the stage, without coming across as shifty or nervous.

Clegg also used his 'ace up his sleeve' the fact that he wasn't a member of the "two same old parties" who've been in charge of the country for the past five generations. While Brown and Cameron seemed to be two like small children  bickering amongst themselves Clegg was like the detatched cooler brother more concerned with substance than frivolous point scoring. After the debate almost all polls had Clegg as the clear winner, with his margin ranging from 60 - 40% while his opponents ranged from the mid 30's - low 20%.

If Clegg can keep up this level of excellence in the next two debates- and Brown and Cameron maintain their mediocrity the so-called 'other one' may become 'the one'