Strictly widens margin over X Factor in ratings

Strictly widens margin over X Factor in ratings
Strictly widens margin over X Factor in ratings

Strictly Come Dancing scored another convincing win in the Saturday night ratings war with The X Factor - this time pulling in two million more viewers than its ITV1 rival. According to overnight estimates the BBC One show scored an average audience of 9.8m, compared to just 7.8m for The X Factor, a figure which also includes those watching on the catch-up service ITV1+1. Those figures show that The X Factor lost a further 600,000 viewers from last Saturday's 8.4m rating, while Strictly has gained an extra 200,000. Strictly's lead over The X Factor is reportedly its biggest for around six years. The pre-recorded Sunday night results show has also beaten The X Factor's results show in the ratings for the past fortnight. Meanwhile The X Factor's latest figure is 2m lower than the equivalent show in 2011, while the series has shed 4m viewers since the 2010 series, which was the last to feature Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole. Saturday's Strictly saw Denise Van Outen finish top of the judges' scoreboard with 35 out of 40 for her Viennese waltz with partner James Jordan - while Richard Arnold finished last with just 17 points after making a mistake during his foxtrot with Erin Boag. Richard is the bookies' favourite to leave the competition on Sunday night, while District 3 and Kye Sones are tipped to be in the X Factor's latest sing-off.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.