Sunday Ratings: X Factor and Downton Abbey Give ITV Strong Ratings

The X Factor and new period drama Downton Abbey gave ITV some very strong figures on Sunday evening.

 

The X Factor and new period drama Downton Abbey gave ITV some very strong figures yesterday evening. The second weekend edition of The X Factor, which shifted away from the auditions and onto the boot-camp stage of the talent competition, had big figures for ITV1 between 7.45pm and 9pm. On Saturday evening the show had 10.7 million viewers with a peak of nearly 12 million viewers. On Sunday evening its ratings rose to an average of 11.9 million viewers with a staggering peak of 14.2 million viewers – the highest peak for The X Factor so far this year. Before The X Factor at 6.45pm  gameshow The Cube also rated well with 5.3 million viewers. You can view a selection of clips from The X Factor boot-camp stages here >> 

Following The X Factor at 9pm was the opening instalment of the Julian Fellowes drama Downton Abbey. The seven part series opened with a 90 minute episode and stars Maggie Smith and Hugh Bonneville. According to overnight ratings its lead-in from The X Factor benefited it greatly as 7.7 million viewers watched the new drama – a very strong launch for the drama. Over on BBC One the return of police drama Inspector George Gently, starring Martin Shaw, put in a respectable 5.2 million viewers between 8.30 and 10pm. Earlier in the evening ever reliable rural affairs magazine programme Countryfile had 6 million viewers with this week’s Antiques Roadshow pulling in 6.2 million viewers.