Strictly Come Dancing attracted a peak of 13.1 million viewers for its final, where fans watched Joe McFadden and Katya Jones crowned as champions.

The conclusion to the hit series matched last year’s viewing figure, when Ore Oduba lifted the glitterball trophy.

Ore Oduba (Isabel Infantes/PA)
Ore Oduba (Isabel Infantes/PA)

It means that the 2010 series still holds the record for the biggest-ever audience for a Strictly final. It attracted 14.3 million viewers when Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev won the trophy.

Saturday night’s instalment was seen by an average of 11.6 million, slightly down on the 11.8 million watching the end of the celebrity dance competition in 2016.

But the audience share was 55.9%, up on last year’s figure of 53.5%.

Figures compiled before the final showed that the 2017 series has been the BBC’s most successful yet, attracting an average of 11 million viewers every weekend, beating by a whisker last year’s all-time average high of 10.9 million.

The show also enjoyed a bumper ratings lead over The X Factor, regularly pulling in about 4.6 million more viewers than its ITV rival.

McFadden became the oldest celebrity to win the competition, aged 42, while his dance partner Jones enjoyed her first win on the BBC1 show.