BBC beats ITV in ratings battle with 20m on super Saturday

by Staff, Brand Republic 19-Dec-05, 08:30

LONDON – The BBC beat ITV in the ratings battle on what was dubbed super Saturday as more than 20m tuned in to watch the 'Strictly Come Dancing' and 'X Factor' finales.

Cricketer Darren Gough won a surprise victory with dance partner Lilia Kopylova in the hit BBC One dance show, as he was watched by a peak of 10.4m and 38% of Saturday night's audience.

"I thought I would be saying this 10 weeks ago but it has been an amazing journey for a guy who has never danced," said Gough.

Gough edged out runner Colin Jackson who had been tipped to win the show with Zoe Ball coming in third place.

Over on ITV1 an average of 9.3m viewers or 36% of the available audience saw Shayne Ward, who was mentored by Louis Walsh, win the X Factor. The 21-year-old Mancunian beat bin man Andy Abraham and duo Journey South to win the X Factor final.

Ward will now battle for the Christmas number one slot with 'It's My Goal', which comes out in the shops on Wednesday. The song is tipped to be number one, with retailers having pre-ordered 750,000 copies of the single, but it might have a battle on its hands after folk duo Nizlopi shot straight to number one on Sunday with their song JCB.

The super Saturday ratings success also saw bookies payout a whopping £3m as punters gambled on the two hit shows.

The BBC won the ratings war, but the voting contest was won by ITV. The X Factor final saw a massive 10.8m votes cast, with some people apparently casting hundreds of votes.

More than 5m viewers voted for their favourites to win on 'Strictly Come Dancing', with £1.5m being raised for 'Children In Need'.

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