Howard Shore's score beat the music from Schindler's List, which was runner-up, and Star Wars, which came third, in the Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame 2023.

More than 10,000 votes were cast in a poll to find the nation's most popular piece of film music.

The top 100 were played on Classic FM before the number one was revealed by chat show host and radio presenter Jonathan Ross just before 7pm on Monday.

He said: "I'm so thrilled to see The Lord Of The Rings make it to number one in this incredible celebration of history's greatest film scores in the Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame.

"JRR Tolkien's adventures are beautiful, spectacular films, but the experience is so enhanced by the incredible score that I'm delighted to see Howard Shore's music getting this much love."

Reacting to the news, Shore said: "Many thanks to all the Classic FM listeners. I'm very happy that I was able to bring you a little closer to JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth."

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Other music in the top 20 included the soundtracks of Gladiator, Chariots Of Fire, Titanic, Pirates Of The Caribbean, and Interstellar.

John Williams was the nation's favourite composer, with five entries in the top 20 alone, including Schindler's List, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone.

The first Lord Of The Rings film in the trilogy premiered in 2001 and won Oscars for visual effects, make-up, cinematography, and music for its original score.

Here is the top 20 of the Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame 2023:

1. The Lord Of The Rings - Howard Shore

2. Schindler's List - John Williams

3. Star Wars - John Williams

4. Out Of Africa - John Barry

5. Gladiator - Hans Zimmer

6. Wilde - Debbie Wiseman

7. Dances With Wolves - John Barry

8. Jurassic Park - John Williams

9. The Good, The Bad And The Ugly - Ennio Morricone

10. The Mission - Ennio Morricone

11. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone - John Williams

12. Chariots Of Fire - Vangelis

13. Indiana Jones - John Williams

14. Ladies In Lavender - Nigel Hess

15. Doctor Zhivago - Maurice Jarre

16. The Magnificent Seven - Elmer Bernstein

17. Interstellar - Hans Zimmer

18. The Godfather - Nino Rota

19: Titanic - James Horner

20. Pirates Of The Caribbean - Klaus Bedelt