‘X Factor’ bosses finally have a reason to smile about this year’s ratings, following Sunday (13 December) night’s live final.
The episode, which saw Louisa Johnson crowned winner, was up nearly 2.5 million viewers on the previous night, when just 5.9 million tuned in to see Ché Chesterman lose out on a place in the final two.
Sunday’s show attracted an overnight figure of 8.4 million viewers - the highest number of the series, up 600,000 on the previous record.
Simon Cowell and the team will be pleased with the latest ratings
A peak of 9.9 million were tuned into ITV for a five-minute period during the two-hour broadcast, from 8pm until 10pm.
However, it’s not all good news for the show, as despite being the significantly up on the rest of the series, the final episode was the lowest rated since the first series finale.
In 2004, 8.1 million witnessed Steve Brookstein win the talent show. By contrast, 14.0 million saw Matt Cardle’s win in 2010 - the best rated finale in the show’s 12-year history.
The figure is also down on last year’s final, which saw Ben Haenow triumph over Fleur East, which attracted 9.1 million.
Meanwhile, the latest ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ results show, which saw Anita Rani and her partner Gleb Savchenko sent home, pulled in 10.8 million from 7.20pm to 8pm.
The ballroom competition is set to air its grand final next Saturday (19 December) from 6.35pm on BBC One.
MORE 'X FACTOR':
- The 20 Best 'X Factor' Auditions Ever
- The 30 Worst 'X Factor' Auditions Ever
- 20 Of The X Factor's Most Hilarious Moments
- The Definitive Ranking Of X Factor's Greatest Ever Performances
- Which ‘X Factor' Judge Are You?
- What Happened To The Contestants Of 'X Factor' Past?
- How Many Past 'X Factor' Finalists Do You Recognise Now?