X Factor VS Strictly: Last Night’s Viewing Figures Revealed

Overnight figures have revealed the viewing numbers for primetime shows X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing last night.

And there is a very clear winner…

The first live X Factor show of the series was 1.7 million UK viewers down on last year, while Strictly Come Dancing was more than a million up, the figures show.

It looks like X Factor could do with more than just a few twists to hold people’s attention to the television talent show. It means more woes for X Factor boss Simon Cowell as he celebrates his 53^rd birthday today.

Although X Factor still drew in more viewers than its arch rival Strictly, it’s 9.2 million average was noticeably down on last year’s figures.

Strictly, which screened its first live Saturday night show last night, enjoyed an audience of 8.7 million, compared to 7.5 million who tuned in for the equivalent show last year.

X Factor bosses can be comfortable with the fact that the show was still the most-watched on the box last night but they may need to get their act together before the audience’s attention wanes even further.

Last year X Factor started the television season on top but Strictly began to gather momentum as the competition went on.

Last night, X Factor viewers saw Christopher Maloney given a second chance as he returned to the show as the “wildcard” entry, spared by viewers’ votes.

In Strictly, Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley became a surprise star with the highest score of the night for her dancefloor debut, with the token impossible-to-please judge Craig Revel Horwood saying “you can dance”, after she showed off her cha cha cha. 

Emmerdale's Riley was last night's dancefloor shocker with Craig simply saying, "You can dance."

We’re putting some bets down… do you think X Factor will still be winning the TV ratings at the end of the series?

We’ll let you know how our predictions get on!