Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell won Strictly Come Dancing (Image: PA)
has been dealt a fresh blow as the viewing figures for the final episode were released.
won the show alongside his professional partner , beating his fellow celebrities , and in what was branded the “best final” on Saturday evening (December 14).
During the final, which turned out to be the highest-scoring ever, the remaining couples performed three dances in a bid to impress the judges and the audience one last time.
Chris, 47, made history as the show’s first ever blind contestant and ended up walking away with the coveted glitterball trophy.
Despite the success of the 2024 series, the competition suffered a drop in its ratings for the third year running. Last year, the show’s viewership peaked at 9.7 million while this year failed to attract as many fan, peaking at 9.3 million.
The average viewership for the 2023 series was 8.8 million, however, this year it dropped to 8.6 million. The 2024 series got off to a slow start as the live show was watched by 7.1 million fans, significantly down from 7.8 million the year before.
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Strictly suffered a drop in viewership ratings (Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
Despite the drop in ratings for the scandal-hit show, it was revealed around the launch that Strictly is still the most watched programme on Saturday nights.
“Strictly is still the most watched programme on a Saturday night — getting double the viewers of its nearest ratings rival,” a source told . “And, although the number watching on catch-up is increasing, the always prided itself on the fact that the dance show offered a shared experience.”
They added: “But it seems fewer and fewer people are now choosing to share it on a Saturday night.”
Strictly managed to turn things around upon its return in September after the show became embroiled in scandal.
accused her professional partner of bullying, prompting a months-long investigation into the Italian dancer’s behaviour by the .
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Amanda Abbington accused Giovanni of bullying (Image: BBC)
Giovanni, 34, stepped down from the series earlier this year after nine years.
when the probe concluded in September, however, the broadcaster did uphold some of the Sherlock actress’s complaints of verbal bullying and harassment.
was also axed from the competition after claims of gross misconduct towards his former partner .
The Italian dancer, 30, admitted to kicking the former star during one of their training sessions.
A spokesperson for Graziano told News: “There is never a time when kicking, or any sense of that is right. And he knows that. He knows he’s made a mistake. He apologised at the time.”
He added: “But he doesn’t recognise some of the issues surrounding it. The descriptions of what is being commented online, and how he remembers it, are not aligned.”