The 20th anniversary series of Strictly Come Dancing pulled in a peak audience of 6.7million viewers.
Saturday saw all 15 celebrity contestants and their professional dance partners take to the dancefloor for the first time after their pairings were revealed the previous week’s launch show.
According to The Sun, show bosses were already “worried” after the launch show lost nearly a million viewers on the previous year and their fears were confirmed after the first live show went out.
The publication reports that Saturday’s episode saw a peak of 6.7million viewers, down from 7.3m for the same episode last year and 10.2m in 2020.
A source said: “The fact that the first live show saw a drop too will be of concern to them — particularly if the drop continues into next week, which is the first elimination show.
“They now face an anxious wait to see whether the drop in on-the-night viewers is made up for by an increase in fans watching Strictly on iPlayer, but those figures take days and weeks to compile.
“These live figures really matter to the Beeb, because Strictly is still seen as one of the few shows that provide the shared TV experience where people come together to watch a programme at a set time.”
A BBC Spokesperson told the Standard: “Overnights no longer provide an accurate picture of all those who watch in an on demand world.”
The drop in viewership comes as Strictly faces its biggest crisis to-date, as a wave of complaints from past celebrity contestants have been made in recent months over claims of “abuse” and “bullying”.
Professional Graziano Di Prima was axed from the show after claims he hit and spat at his dancing partner Zara McDermott during rehearsals for last year’s series.
Giovanni Pernice was suspended while the broadcaster launches an investigation into claims of off-camera misconduct made by Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington and two other former celebrity partners.
The Italian native has vowed “I’ll be back” and has reportedly provided a dossier of evidence to the BBC probe that he believes will exonerate him.
Results from the investigation were expected to be announced last month, but have as yet to materialise.
In lieu of any findings, many have speculated that even the existence of allegations have had a detrimental affect on the show.
This year’s celebrity line-up has also come under fire with some fans declaring it the “worst line-up ever” and claiming there are “no big stars”.
