TV Overnights: 5.4m watch England’s World Cup defeat

A high of more than 5.4 million viewers tuned in to ITV1 to see England v France on Saturday morning. The game, which saw England exit the Rugby World Cup after losing 12-19 to the French, attracted over 3.6 million average viewers and a 36.2% audience share for ITV in the early-morning slot.

ITV1 also banked the top ratings in the prime time slots this weekend with The X Factor and Downton Abbey. On Saturday night, The X Factor peaked with 10.5 million viewers – dominating the ratings from 8pm onwards with a 36.7% average audience share.

However, ITV1 gained its highest audience figure on Sunday evening with The X Factor Results show, which pulled in more than 11.1 million peak viewers and a 37.2% average share. The popular Downton Abbey followed with 8.5 million peak viewers and a 30.4% share in the post-watershed peak-hour.

BBC One also enjoyed ratings-success this weekend. Strictly Come Dancing won a peak audience of 9.7 million viewers and a 36.3% average share between 6pm and 8pm on Saturday, before picking up 10.1 million peak viewers between 7.30pm and 8pm on Sunday.

The channel’s Formula One coverage also proved popular among viewers, with 2.2 million peak viewers tuning in on Saturday for the qualifier and more than three million watching the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

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.