This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/entertainment/8411542.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| X Factor final seen by 17 million | X Factor final seen by 17 million |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| ITV1's The X Factor was watched by more than 17 million people on Sunday night, as Olly Murs and Joe McElderry fought for the title. | ITV1's The X Factor was watched by more than 17 million people on Sunday night, as Olly Murs and Joe McElderry fought for the title. |
| An average of 15.5m people watched the full two-hour final, according to early overnight figures. | An average of 15.5m people watched the full two-hour final, according to early overnight figures. |
| The peak audience came at 2030GMT, dropping slightly to 16.8m as McElderry was declared the overall victor. | The peak audience came at 2030GMT, dropping slightly to 16.8m as McElderry was declared the overall victor. |
| The show accounted for 56% of the total TV audience. Sports Personality Of The Year also attracted 4.7m to BBC One. | The show accounted for 56% of the total TV audience. Sports Personality Of The Year also attracted 4.7m to BBC One. |
| The teenager is set for the Christmas number one with his debut, The Climb | |
| The annual awards ceremony, which saw Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs take home the top prize, peaked with 6m viewers for the last 15 minutes of the show. | |
| McElderry, from South Shields, had been the bookmakers' favourite to win the X Factor, and took nearly two thirds of the 10 million votes cast. | |
| After clinching the title, he performed his single, The Climb, which was released digitally at midnight. A CD single will be on shop shelves from Wednesday. | |
| On ITV2's companion show, The Xtra Factor, it was later revealed that McElderry had topped the phone vote for the last four weeks. | |
| Speaking to GMTV on Monday, he said winning the show had been the "best experience" of his life. | |
| "I am still pinching myself, I cannot believe it, that I am sitting here, and that I have just won X Factor," he said. | |
| "I think it is going to take a long time to sink in. It was just amazing, it has been the best experience of my life." | |
| The 17 million-strong audience is the highest for the reality singing contest - beating the previous peak of 15.02m, set on 15 November when rocker Jamie "Afro" Archer was voted out. | |
| However, the show did not quite manage to top the year's highest-rated programme. The final of Britain's Got Talent was seen by 18.29m in May. |