Strictly Come Dancing receives best viewing figures in 14-year history while X Factor had its lowest

The BBC1 show has been drawing 11 million viewers per epiosde
Record-breaking: This year's series of Strictly is the most-watched ever
BBC / Guy Levy
Jennifer Ruby15 December 2017

This year’s Strictly Come Dancing has had its highest ever ratings with 11 million people regularly tuning in on Saturday nights.

New viewing figures show that the BBC1 dancing show is more popular than ever, beating last year’s 10.9 million average.

On the other end of the spectrum, this year’s series of The X Factor drew its worst ever ratings, with only 6.3 million people tuning in per episode.

Simon Cowell’s ITV singing contest has been steadily declining in popularity year-on-year, while Strictly seems to be growing its viewing figures.

This Saturday’s live Strictly final is expected to be the most-watched in the show’s history, after drawing 13.3 million viewers last year.

Back in 2010, X Factor was neck-and-neck with Strictly in the ratings and would regularly beat the BBC show on Saturday nights.

This Sunday will see Debbie McGee, Joe McFadden, Alexandra Burke and Gemma Atkinson compete for the coveted Glitterball Trophy.

Each couple will perform three dances for the judges and viewer vote, with the result revealed live at the end of the episode.

Strictly Come Dancing 2017 - In pictures

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