In the final TV event of the campaign featuring the leaders of the two major parties, the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition faced a 45-minute barrage from members of the public.
Mrs May was taken to task by four members of the audience about her social care policies; and by an emotional voter who had waited 18 months to access treatment for mental health problems.
Mr Corbyn, a long-standing advocate of nuclear disarmament, struggled and was accused of "dodging the question" by veteran host David Dimbleby as he refused to say what he would do if Britain was threatened with a nuclear strike.
He claimed a Government he led would ease tensions with countries such as North Korea through negotiations "before it reached that stage", and would not say if the UK would hit back if struck by another country.
Image:Jeremy Corbyn was accused of 'dodging the question':: Tory declares innocence over election charge
The Prime Minister had the most difficult moments of the debate when questioned about public services.
A nurse, who said she had seen a real terms cut in her pay over the past seven years, asked the Prime Minister why she was not investing in the NHS amid heckling from other guests.
Mrs May offered her little reassurance, saying: "We have had to take some hard choices across the public sector, and I'm being honest with you that we will put more money into the NHS but there isn't a magic money tree we can just shake."
She added: "We are putting record levels of funding into the NHS and will continue to put money into the NHS."
In awkward scenes, Mrs May listened as a partially sighted voter who had waited 18 months for counselling became emotional as she recounted a bad experience with the Work Capability Assessment.
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