Strictly Come Dancing 2017 launch night beats The X Factor in ratings battle

The BBC show proved more popular than its ITV rival
Celebration: Strictly launch night drew in 3 million more viewers than The X Factor
BBC
Aime Grant Cumberbatch11 September 2017

The Strictly Come Dancing launch night has triumphed over prime time rival The X Factor in this year’s ratings battle.

The BBC ballroom show always seems to bag a larger percentage of the viewership and this year is no different, as 3 million more people tuned in to see the celebrities matched with their dance partners on Saturday night.

Strictly drew in an estimated average figure of 8.8 million viewers, with a peak of 9.5 million, a drop on last year’s figures of a 9.3 million average and a peak of 10.1 million viewers.

Meanwhile X Factor drew in an average of 5.5 million viewers, with a peak of 6.8 million.

While the two shows weren’t scheduled in directly competing slots, as Strictly kicked off at 7pm, while X Factor started at 8pm, the shows did overlap for 40 minutes.

The launch of the BBC dancing competition saw the cast pay tribute to former host Bruce Forsyth who passed away last month.

Strictly Come Dancing 2017 - In pictures

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Presenter Tess Daly was reduced to tears by the tribute which saw the professional dancers perform to Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon.

The 2017 crop of celebrity contestants were also matched with their dancing partners, with pairings including The Saturday’s Mollie King and AJ Pritchard, This Morning presenter Ruth Langsford and Anton du Beke and comedian Susan Calman and Kevin Clifton.

Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday, September 23 at 7pm on BBC One.

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