Strictly Come Dancing’s trip to Blackpool pulled in 10.7 million viewers on Saturday night, more than double the audience of rival The X Factor.
The BBC flagship show pulled in 49% of the audience watching television and peaked with 11.4 million viewers watching the eight remaining couples spin round the dancefloor of the Tower Ballroom for week nine of the competition.
Debbie brought the Spice, Joe brought the glowsticks and Gemma bagged her first 10s as the #Strictly Circus came to Blackpool 🎪🎟✨ pic.twitter.com/P05VaeVQJX
— BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) November 19, 2017
The Blackpool special delivered the highest average rating for the main Saturday show of the series.
The episode saw Alexandra Burke and partner Gorka Marquez top the leaderboard for a second week running after scoring 39 for their arcade-themed quickstep, while Debbie McGee channelled her inner Geri Halliwell for a samba to a medley from the Spice Girls.
So those Spice Girls reunion rumours were true… oh wait, it's ONLY @thedebbiemcgee and @pernicegiovann1's incredible #Strictly Samba! 😱✌️ pic.twitter.com/j1af7QIxrN
— BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) November 18, 2017
They were watched by a star-studded audience which included Sir Lenny Henry, Peter Kay, JK Rowling and Graham Norton.
Proof that #Strictly really is magical ✨ JK Rowling. pic.twitter.com/bo5WfwmNYP
— BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) November 18, 2017
On ITV, The X Factor averaged 4.6 million viewers including those watching on ITV +1 and HD, peaking at 5.1 million viewers.
Irish brothers Sean and Conor Price and solo singer Sam Black were the latest acts to leave the competition during its crazy in love-themed show.
Sadly, we had to wave goodbye to not one but TWO acts last night! @SamBlackMusic_ & @sean_conorprice well miss you! 😿😿😿 #XFactor pic.twitter.com/XwF1xhyWvy
— The X Factor (@TheXFactor) November 19, 2017
The programme will lose four acts across the weekend in a double elimination special.
Sean and Conor, mentored by Simon Cowell, performed Julia Michael’s Issues, while Black – who opened the show – offered his own take on Little Mix and Charlie Puth’s Oops.
Strictly’s Blackpool results show airs on Sunday night at 7.15pm on BBC One, while The X Factor continues on ITV at 7.30pm.