Strictly Come Dancing stretched its lead over The X Factor to 2 million viewers on Saturday with another 1.5 million advantage on Sunday.
Despite the much-anticipated return of Simon Cowell and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini (formerly Cole) to its judging panel, the ITV talent show has been unable to reel in its BBC1 rival, with Strictly doubling its lead over The X Factor from last week.
The BBC1 celebrity dance show had 9.4 million viewers (42.8%) between 6.30pm and 8.20pm on Saturday, with another 9.5 million (39.7%) for former rugby star Thom Evans’s exit between 7.20pm and 8pm on Sunday.
The X Factor had 7.4 million (32.4%) between 8pm and 10.10pm on Saturday and 7.8 million (32.2%) for its results show between 8pm and 9pm on Sunday.
Strictly Come Dancing’s 2 million lead on Saturday was up from 1.3 million last week, when it had 9 million viewers against The X Factor’s 7.7 million.
Its Sunday night lead was three times last week’s, when the Strictly results show had 9.1 million against The X Factor’s 8.6 million.
Keep It on BBC1
Strictly had the advantage on Sunday of following BBC1’s all-conquering Countryfile, watched by 6.7 million viewers (31.9%) between 6.20pm and 7.20pm on Sunday.
The X Factor had to piggyback on ITV’s new Bradley Walsh game show Keep It in the Family (not the 1980s sitcom about a cartoonist starring Robert Gillespie) which began with 3.5 million viewers (14.9%), down 17% on ITV’s three-month slot average.
Tried to watch it later. Couldn’t catch-up
Speed with Guy Martin was back for a second series on Channel 4 with 1.9 million viewers (7.8%) between 8pm and 9pm, ahead of BBC2’s Wonders of the Monsoon, with 1.6 million (6.7%).
Other new series on Sunday included Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways on BBC4, which began with 132,000 viewers, a 0.9% share between 10pm and 11pm, down 29% on its slot average, and Pick TV’s Fat Pets, Fat Owners.
“Following the stories of overweight people trying to shed the pounds and improve the health of their obese pets at the same time”, Fat Pets, Fat Owners tucked into a trim 124,000 viewers (1.6%) at 9am.
Manchester United’s last-gasp 1-1 draw with Chelsea was watched by just under 2 million viewers on Sky Sports 1 between 3.30pm and 7pm, with a five-minute peak of 3.2 million – the most watched programme of the day on pay-TV channels.
All ratings are Barb overnight figures, including live, +1 (except for BBC channels) and same day timeshifted (recorded) viewing, but excluding on demand, or other – unless otherwise stated. Figures for BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 generally include ratings for their HD simulcast services, unless otherwise stated
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