Strictly Come Dancing's Saturday show pulls in huge ratings - beating THIS Royal Wedding!

2018 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special
(Image credit: BBC)

It achieved the biggest numbers of the series so far.

Saturday night's episode of Strictly Come Dancing proved to be the most-watched of the 2018 series so far, with the show confirming some huge viewing figures.

On the BBC Strictly Press Twitter account, it was revealed that the episode drew in 11.9 million viewers at its peak.

It was also confirmed that the average number of viewers was 10.6 million, "with an audience share of 51.2".

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The ratings this week soared since last week's Movie Week, where the Saturday night show had a peak of 10.4 million viewers, and the Sunday results show drew in 9.3 million at its peak.

And the show proved so popular, that it actually beat the viewing figures for one of the biggest royal weddings in recent years.

The BBC reported that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in May won them an average of 8.7 million viewers, less than Strictly's average of 10.6 million.

Meghan

However, at its peak the Royal Wedding gathered almost a million more viewers than Strictly's Saturday show, with a huge 13.1 million viewers.

And Strictly's Saturday show also beat out the most recent Royal Wedding, Princess Eugenie's, by a mile. The royal's nuptials to Jack Brooksbank attracted 3 million viewers, when it aired on This Morning on Friday.

It's likely that the high viewing figures from last night's Strictly resulted in part from the recent controversy surrounding the show.

During the week, pictures were published of contestant Seann Walsh and his professional partner Katya Jones kissing - despite the former having a girlfriend, and Katya being married to fellow Strictly pro Neil Jones.

A photo posted by on

Following the story, it was reported that Seann and Katya changed their dance from a Rumba to the Charleston, which they ended up performing on Saturday night.

And in fact, their dance earned them some of their highest scores from the judges yet, with 28 points in total. Their Charleston also drew a warm reaction from the crowd, who enthusiastically cheered and clapped the pair.

Amy Hunt is a lifestyle writer and editor, and was previously Lifestyle Channel Editor at womanandhome.com, having been with the brand since 2015. She is passionate about everything from entertainment to books, to homes, food and wellness. When she isn't editing, researching or writing articles, she's busy burying her nose in a gripping thriller, practicing yoga, or buying new homeware.