Viewing figures strictly up 1,000,000 after launch night slump

The first live show of Strictly Come Dancing graced the big screen last night, with celebrities and professionals delivering a series of epic performances.

But that’s not the only thing the bosses are happy about, because the viewing figures are also promising, after initially declining on the evening of the launch.

Last night, Chris McCausland, Tasha Ghouri, Pete Wicks, Nick Knowles, Shayne Ward and Sarah Hadland took to the dance floor with their professional partners.

Judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke were on hand to deliver scathing criticism and the occasional glowing review. JLS star JB Gill topped the leaderboard with a respectable score of 31 points.

But his collaboration with Amy isn’t the only thing that took off on Saturday. Viewer ratings also rose by a whopping one million compared to last week.

As confirmed to Metro.co.uk The BBC’s Strictly, which aired from 7pm to 9.30pm, attracted an average of 6.4 million viewers last night.

The show peaked at 6.6 million viewers.

Perhaps even more impressive is that the film had a huge 49.4% market share of the audience.

The numbers are sure to rise in the coming days as Strictly fanatics can re-watch the series via BBC iPlayer.

This comes after Strictly’s launch show fell by almost a million viewers in 2024 compared to 2023.

An average of 5.5 million viewers watched the BBC One programme on 14 September. The show resumed broadcasting after a wave of controversy surrounding sacked professional dancers who were forced to deny allegations of misconduct during training.

It is notable, however, that these overnight figures have fluctuated over the years and that more and more people are watching on-demand, which is not included in the original figures.

An average of 5.4 million people watched the 2022 launch, and the pre-recorded launch show in 2021 attracted seven million viewers.

As for the first live show of 2023, the viewing figures were lower than in 2022, but they were still higher than this year’s.

Last fall, 6.6 million viewers, compared to 6.8 million in 2022 and 7.9 million in 2021, watched the cast take their first steps.

It was no doubt a relief for the 2024 batch: there was no public vote this weekend. That means everyone will be dancing again next weekend, with the judges’ scores tallied and the dreaded dance-off ending one couple’s Strictly adventure.

After their first dance, Tasha, one of the Love Islanders, is the new favourite. Bookmakers predict that she will play a starring role due to her impressive cha-cha-cha.

She and returning pro Aljaz Skorjanec were awarded 30 points by the panel, with Shirley telling Tasha: “You’re on your way to one of the most spectacular leg moves I’ve ever seen on the show.”

Meanwhile, Toyah Willcox seems to be in trouble, scoring just 12 points for her tango and now finds herself at the bottom of the rankings.

Joining her in the danger zone were Paul Merson and Towie’s Pete, who both scored 17 points for their American smooth and paso doble respectively.

The star of the evening, however, was undoubtedly comedian Chris, who made history as the show’s first ever blind contestant.

Partnering with Australian pro Dianne Buswell, the much-loved Scouser performed his cha cha cha on Twist And Shout, earning him 23 points.

Judge Anton said: ‘It was one of the most extraordinary things I have ever seen in my life.’

Shirley added: ‘I’m quite shocked and very emotional – amazing.’

Viewers have already taken the TV star to their hearts and are keen to compliment him once again, with Chris dismissing resident Mr. Nasty Craig’s criticism with the words: ‘I’m too tired to care, mate!’

“I’ll take you home tonight,” he added with a smile.

He wasn’t the only one who reacted strongly to the panel last night. Podcaster Pete also lashed out at Anton, criticizing his timing.

“I’ve got no rhythm, mate!” Pete declared, prompting Strictly viewers to expect fireworks in the coming weeks…

Strictly Come Dancing returns next Saturday at 6.15pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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