I THANK YOU FOR TREATING ME LIKE AN EQUAL
Blackpool special trounces X Factor Paralympian grateful for getting same criticism as everyone else as he says goodbye to show
STRICTLY’S trip to Blackpool pulled in 10.7million viewers on Saturday night, more than twice the audience of rivals The X Factor.
The BBC’s flagship show took 49 per cent of the TV-watching audience, peaking with 11.4million viewers.
On ITV, The X Factor averaged 4.6million viewers, including those watching on ITV+1 and on HD, peaking at 5.1million viewers.
Strictly’s Blackpool special delivered the highest average rating for the main Saturday show of the series.
Alexandra Burke and Gorka Marquez topped the leaderboard with 39 points.
The celebrities were watched by a star-studded audience which included Sir Lenny Henry, JK Rowling and Graham Norton. Comedian Peter Kay irritated some viewers when he was brought on to read the phone vote’s terms and conditions but ended up promoting tickets for his new tour. It came a day after he revealed on Children in Need that there will be two new episodes of Car Share – including one telling what happened after the series-ending cliffhanger.
On The X Factor, brothers Sean and Conor Price and solo singer Sam Black were the latest acts to leave the competition during its Crazy in Love-themed show.
The programme lost four acts across the weekend in a double elimination special.
Sean and Conor, mentored by Simon Cowell, performed Julia Michael’s Issues, while Black – who opened Saturday’s show – offered his own take on Little Mix and Charlie Puth’s Oops. PARALYMPIC champion Jonnie Peacock said it had been “an honour” to be the first disabled person to compete on Strictly Come Dancing as viewers saw him voted off last night.
The sprinter thanked everyone for treating him “as an equal” after he lost out to Debbie McGee in the dance-off during the episode filmed at Blackpool’s Tower Ballroom.
Debbie and dance partner Giovanni Pernice performed a samba to a Spice Girls medley for a second time, while Jonnie and Oti Mabuse performed their tango to Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics in a bid to remain in the competition.
After the judges unanimously chose to save Debbie, Jonnie said: “I think it’s been an absolute honour to be the first disabled person.
“I want to thank each and every one of you for judging me as an equal. That’s what I want.
“You’ve been critical with me and I want that criticism.
“I think that’s fantastic and I hope it paves the way for more people to come through.”
Jonnie, whose right leg had to be amputated below the knee when he contracted meningitis when he was five years old, thanked Oti for “pushing me because she knows what I’m capable of ”.
Oti replied: “Jonnie is not only an inspiration but he represents so much more.
“If anybody wants to do anything, if you put your mind to it then you can achieve it and that’s what he represents.”
Judge Craig Revel Horwood praised Debbie’s “technical cleanliness and outstanding performance skill”.
Darcey Bussell said it was a difficult decision because both couples had made such improvements but backed Debbie for “giving a technically more competent performance”.
Bruno Tonioli and head judge Shirley Ballas agreed with their choice.
Saturday night’s show saw Alexandra Burke and partner Gorka Marquez top the leaderboard for a second week running after scoring 39 for their arcade-themed quickstep.
Scottish comedian Susan Calman and partner Kevin Clifton were bottom of the leaderboard with 25 points but escaped the show’s dance-off thanks to the votes of viewers.