Almost 16 Million Viewers Watch I’m A Celebrity Final

A peak of almost 16 million viewers tuned in to ITV1 last night to see former Atomic Kitten star, Kerry McFadden, become queen of the jungle in the finalďż˝ of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

The climax of the antipodean reality-TV show, which saw the 23 year-old singer become the first woman to claim the coveted crown, peaked with an audience of 15.7 million and provided ITV1 with a massive 63% share of viewing.

Unofficial overnight viewing figures from BARB show that an average of 14.1 million reality-TV fans tuned in for the show, which secured an impressive 55% share of the available audience between 9:00pm and 10:30pm.

ITV will no doubt be pleased with ratings for the finalďż˝, which were more than a million higher than last year, when former England cricketer, Phil Tufnell, saw off competition from Linda Barker and Wayne Sleep to become king of the jungle (see I’m A Celebrity Finale Peaks With 13 Million Viewers).

Last night’s I’m A Celebrity easily overshadowed Channel 4, which averaged just 1.8 million viewers and achieved a 7.3% audience share between 9:00pm and 10:30pm. It also eclipsed BBC One, which attracted just under 4 million viewers and secured a 15.1% audience share during the same time.

McFadden described winning the third series as ‘a fantasy’ as the former Atomic Kitten, who was a rank outsider at the start of the show, beat singer Peter Andre and former BBC royal correspondent Jenny Bond to claim the celebrity crown.

I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here has proved extremely popular with viewers and the show’s steamy jungle antics last week helped ITV1 achieve its highest audience share in more than two years.

ITV’s director of programmes, Nigel Pickard, said: “This series had such a great line up of celebrities who gave us plenty of drama, tears and humour over the two weeks. Once again I’m A Celebrity got the nation talking and we are delighted that so many millions of people were hooked.”

The first series of I’m A Celebrity, which was responsible for veteran DJ Tony Blackburn’s return to the limelight, proved a surprise success for ITV1, achieving an audience of almost 11 million viewers at its peak in September. However, talk is already underway as to who will appear in the next series.

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com

Recent Television Stories from NewsLine ITV Shortens Commercial Breaks To Improve Ad Recall Freeview Boss Quits As Sales Continue To Rise Merged ITV Set To Appoint New Chairman Next Month

Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive