Strictly Come Dancing has continued to draw bumper ratings in the wake of the controversy surrounding Seann Walsh and Katya Jones.
Saturday night’s episode was the most watched show across all channels on the day, drawing an average of 9.9 million viewers, the BBC said.
This gave BBC One a 49.4% share of the audience in the time slot, with viewership peaking at 11 million, according to the overnight ratings.
✨Last night Strictly Come Dancing had a peak of 11 million viewers. The average was 9.9 million with an audience share of 49.4% ✨
— BBC Strictly Press (@bbcstrictlyPR) October 21, 2018
However, it marks a dip compared with last week’s episode, when the comedian and his professional partner performed a decidedly platonic Charleston and an average of 10.6 million tuned in to watch the show live, peaking at 11.9 million.
It marked the first time they had danced on the show since photographs of them kissing emerged.
The incident prompted a surge in viewers, giving the show its highest ratings of the series last week, with the average number up 1.4 million from the last episode before the scandal, when 9.2 million people tuned in.
Saturday night’s episode saw the duo return to the dancefloor to perform a quickstep to Lightning Bolt by Jake Bugg.
This Quickstep really struck a chord with us 🎸🎶 @SeannWalsh @Mrs_katjones #Strictly pic.twitter.com/pGVvP2Mmq0
— BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) October 20, 2018
It also saw the appearance of a guest judge, as Alfonso Ribeiro filled in for regular panelist Bruno Tonioli.
For one week only! Welcome to #Strictly Alfonso Ribeiro! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/bxwdgbYGep
— BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) October 20, 2018
On ITV, the first X Factor live show drew an average audience of 4.3 million, giving the channel a 24.7% share.
The show peaked with 5.1 million viewers.
The episode saw singer Danny Tetley forced to restart his performance following a technical blunder.
He paused his performance of Mariah Carey’s Hero after another contestant’s name was announced as he appeared on stage.
What a barnstorming Live Show performance by @danny_tetley' !https://t.co/kD1NQBwRql 💪 #XFactor pic.twitter.com/AzuwQKFT1f
— The X Factor (@TheXFactor) October 20, 2018
After Liverpudlian vocalist Anthony Russell’s name was read out, the singer turned to the judges and asked: “Sorry, can I start again?”
He received praise for his second take of the track, with Simon Cowell telling him the distraction had actually improved the quality of his performance.
The Strictly Come Dancing results show is on BBC One at 7.45pm while The X Factor live shows continue on ITV at 8pm.