Strictly Come Dancing Receives Lowest Ratings Since 2011

It seemed like the world and its mother tuned in to Strictly Come Dancing this weekend. However, it doesn't look like that was the case, with the BBC talent show receiving its lowest ratings in years. A healthy 7.7 million watched the celebs take to the dancefloor on Saturday night, however this figure is down on previous years' opening weekend numbers. The first live show aired this weekend (image via BBC).  Last year, a whopping 8.5 million tuned in to the first live show, and in 2013 the show was watched by 9.1 million. Back in 2011, the first live show was viewed by 7.5 million, making this year's ratings the lowest since then. To add insult to injury, producers expected ratings to peak due to the lack of competition from the X Factor. Karen Clifton and Jeremy Vine (image via BBC).  Strictly and X Factor will however go head to head in the battle of the ratings next Sunday evening, when Simon Cowell's talent contest airs a bumper episode to make up for its Rugby World Cup absence.