Strictly Come Dancing's series launch attracted an average of 9.3 million viewers on Saturday night, setting a record for an opening episode of the BBC One show. The audience peaked at 10.1 million as the 14th series began, with celebrities and professional dancers meeting for the first time.
Contestants this year include singers Anastacia and Will Young, actress Lesley Joseph, and former shadow chancellor Ed Balls. Last year's launch episode averaged 8.7 million viewers.
Mr Balls, paired with new Russian dancer Katya Jones, described watching his performance as 'traumatic'. He said: 'I'm not sure whether I was more traumatised by my dad moves, which looked rather more dad-like than I had expected, or the pictures of me with all of these sparkling celebrities looking like I'm about to serve them the drinks in this bow tie.'
Dancers now have three weeks to master their first routine before the live shows begin. Meanwhile, ITV's The X Factor saw improved ratings from its series opener, which averaged 6.8 million viewers. Saturday night's third episode, broadcast after Strictly, averaged 8.3 million with a peak of 9.2 million.
