Return Of Strictly Come Dancing Gets 6.5m

Saturday evening saw the return of Strictly Come Dancing, with a host of new celebrities attempting to foxtrot their way to the final.

The hour-long show, on BBC One from 6.30pm-7.30pm, had a peak of 6.5 million viewers or a 33.2% audience share, while an average of six million stayed with it throughout its running time.

Over on ITV1 at 7.30pm was The X Factor, featuring the latest batch of deluded wannabe superstars.

A peak of 9.9 million viewers (a 43.4% share) watched the action, with an average of 9.4 million sticking with it for its hour duration.

Last night saw the first part of Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, BBC One’s latest lavish period drama.

A peak audience of 5.7 million viewers tuned in to the Thomas Hardy adaptation, on at 9pm.

ITV1 had its own new series yesterday evening, a variety show hosted by Vernon Kay and Joan Rivers called For One Night Only, on for an hour between 7pm and 8pm.

Despite talent such as Boyzone and The Pussycat Dolls, the show could only grab a peak audience of 3.8 million viewers, beaten by BBC One’s Sunday night stalwart Antiques Roadshow, with a peak of 7.1 million viewers.

Overnight data is available each morning in mediatel.co.uk’s TV Database, with all BARB registered subscribers able to view reports for terrestrial networks and key multi-channel stations.

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk