Strictly bombshell as viewing figures reveal surprise ‘downturn’

December 16, 2018

Strictly Come Dancing’s viewing figures are in, and it’s a bit of a surprise for those who are big fans of the show.

Stacey Dooley, a hot favourite to take the crown, did just that as she and her partner, Kevin Clifton, lifted the glitterball trophy after a tricky final, where she failed to impress judge Craig Revel Horwood with their showdance.

But despite her being a beloved performer for those at home, this sadly did not entirely translate into the vieweing figures, as sadly they only beat last year’s final by 100,000 viewers, and was not able to beat the 2016 final, where Joanne Clifton and Ore Oduba took the win.

The overnight viewing figures show a peak of 12.7million viewers at the time of broadcast, with an average audience of 11.7million, which made it the most watched show of the series.

However, this compares to Ore and Jo’s 2016 final of 11.8million, with 11.6million tuning in to watch Joe McFadden and Katya Jones last year, only 100,000 fewer than this year.

But there is some good news, as the final beat the semi-final by a whole 1.7million viewers, and the quarter-final by a cool million viewers, with Charles Venn’s exit two weeks before gaining 10.7million viewers.

The final was the most watched show of the series.

However, there is still BBCiPlayer viewing figures to take into account, as the overnight figures are only part of the big numbers – so the final could end up being the year’s most watched show if enough people choose to catch up online.

The final was pretty emotional, as Kevin took home the prize after being in the final four times and failing to earn the top numbers in the public vote.

He triumphed this year, after falling at the final hurdle with Susanna Reid, Frankie Bridge, Kellie Bright and Louise Redknapp.

In last year’s competition, he finished seventh with Susan Calman.