Entertainment

The Voice beats new BBC offering The Greatest Dancer in Saturday night ratings

The BBC has often enjoyed success in the ratings.
The BBC has often enjoyed success in the ratings. The BBC has often enjoyed success in the ratings.

The Voice provided a triumph for ITV over the BBC as it won the ratings battle with The Greatest Dancer.

It was the most watched entertainment show on TV on Saturday evening, pulling in a peak of 5.4 million viewers.

In a reversal of fortunes for the BBC, which consistently out-performs ITV in the ratings war between Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor, it was the ITV talent show which proved most popular.

The Greatest Dancer, meanwhile, managed 3.5 million viewers during its Saturday night slot, which was the first live show of the new series.

Cheryl was moved to tears on the Syco production as she watched a female dance troupe.  The show enjoyed 17% of the audience share, and averaged 3.4 million viewers.

On The Voice it was Olly Murs who attracted attention, as he was handed a can of deodorant spray from the audience after smelling his armpits.

The talent show had about 25% of the audience share, marking a success for ITV for a highly coveted and contested Saturday viewership.

ITV have revealed that the Six Nations clash between Ireland and England, which saw the latter run out 32 to 20 winners, was the most watched programme on TV, with 32% of the audience share.