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| X Factor final seen by 19 million | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| ITV1's The X Factor was watched by more than 19 million people as Olly Murs and Joe McElderry fought for the title, according to the latest figures. | |
| An average of 15.5m people tuned in to watch the full two-hour final on Sunday night. | |
| But a peak audience of 19.1m, between 2115 and 2120 GMT, saw McElderry 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 teenager is set for the Christmas number one with his debut, The Climb | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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 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." | "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 15 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. | |
| Lorraine Heggessey, head of production company Talkback Thames, said the ratings were "incredible for a show in its sixth series, proving that viewers appreciate the investment in the show and want programmes that become a big event". | |
| Peter Fincham, ITV's director of television, called it "a great night for television". | |
| The X Factor final is now the second most popular programme of 2009, after the final Britain's Got Talent, which attracted an average of 18.29m viewers for the whole show in May. | |