X-Factor Strictly
X Factor judge Simon Cowell and the competitors in this year's Strictly ITV / BBC

This past weekend the BBC and ITV locked horns in the first of many big Saturday night ratings clash as we approach the end of the year. As ever the Beeb's Strictly Come Dancing went up against ITV's X-Factor.

It was not even close, with the first competitive episode of the new series of Strictly trouncing Simon Cowell's singing competition with nearly double the amount of viewers each achieved at their respective peaks.

Around 10.2m viewers watched the likes of Mollie King, Debbie McGee and Aston Merrygold compete on the dance floor, compared to X Factor's 5.4m.

BBC's victory continues its run of Saturday night dominance after years of beating X-Factor despite the two rarely going head-to-head.

A source close to Strictly's producers reportedly told The Sun: "The figures are better than anyone had hoped for. The show is getting bigger and bigger. The competition with The X Factor is well and truly won."

Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman hosted the BBC show as 15 celebrities and their professional dance partners took to the dance floor to show off what they had learned since being paired up two weeks ago.

There were some sensationally high scores for week one, with Debbie McGee and Aston Merrygold crossing the 30-point (out of 40) threshold as the former claimed an eight score from judge Craig Revel Horwood - unheard of in this early stage.

At the bottom of the leaderboard were Ruth Langsford and Brian Connolly, who both scored 16 points each. With no one leaving the show this week however, they will have the opportunity to boost their chances of survival next week with a second dance before the public vote opens.

On X Factor it was the final week of auditions before Bootcamp begins next week. Across Saturday and Sunday the final hopefuls took the stage, including Berget Lewis, who stunned with her rendition of Prince's Purple Rain.