Strictly Come Dancing’s first live show left fans spellbound on Saturday night, with viewing figures seeming to recover after the launch show.
During the iconic BBC programme, celebrities and professionals delivered a series of stunning performances. However, the producers have more to celebrate as things are now looking up following the disappointing launch night figures.
On Saturday (September 21) Chris McCausland, Tasha Ghouri, Pete Wicks, Nick Knowles, Shayne Ward, and Sarah Hadland took to the dance floor with their professional partners. Meanwhile, Judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke were on hand to deliver harsh criticism and occasional high scores, with JLS star JB Gill topping the leaderboard with a respectable 31 points in the first week.
According to Metro, the BBC confirmed that Strictly, which aired from 7pm until 9:30pm, averaged 6.4million viewers – almost a million more than the number that tuned in during the launch show. The show peaked at 6.6million and while the live opener has been falling year on year – 6.6million viewers (2023), 6.8 million (2022) and 7.9million (2021) – the figure is expected to rise in the coming days as fans catch up on BBC iPlayer.
The news arrives as the 2024 Strictly launch show saw nearly a million fewer viewers tuning in compared to 2023. On September 14, an average of 5.5 million viewers watched the BBC One programme as it made its comeback amidst a storm of controversy due to dismissed professional dancers who have had to refute allegations of misconduct during training, reports the Express.
In a twist that will undoubtedly be welcomed by the 2024 cohort, there was no public vote this weekend, ensuring all contestants will be back to dazzle audiences next weekend. The judges’ scores from this round will carry over and the feared dance-off will see one couple’s Strictly dream end
Following their debut dances, Love Island’s Tasha has been tipped as the new favourite to win Strictly Come Dancing 2024, with bookmakers backing her to clinch the glitterball trophy after her stunning cha cha cha performance. Tasha, alongside her dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec, impressed the judges and received a score of 30.
Judge Shirley Ballas commented: “You are on your way to having one of the most spectacular leg actions I think I’ve ever seen on the show.” Tasha, the Love Island sensation, has also been in the news recently after discussing how she sometimes suffers from concentration fatigue during rehearsals.
The 26-year-old, who was born deaf, shared: “I can suffer from concentration fatigue from lip reading all day. There may be times when I have a power nap for 10 to 20 minutes just to get myself back and re-energised.
“I would love to take my cochlear implant out to really feel the music. Feel the vibrations. To feel ‘ok this is how it’s going to feel on Saturday night’.”
Strictly Come Dancing is available to watch on BBC Iplayer.