Strictly Come Dancing's most popular series yet ends with 13.1m viewers

Strictly Come Dancing concluded the most popular series in its 14-year history on Saturday night with 13.1 million viewers tuning in at the peak of the spangled finale.

The 2017 final, in which the former Holby City actor Joe McFadden and his partner Katya Jones were crowned champions, failed to beat the viewing figures of the most-watched final, in 2010, which peaked at 14.3 million.

But the show has pulled in an average of 11 million viewers every weekend since September, topping last year’s record figure of 10.9 million. Saturday’s final had an average of 11.6 million viewers, the BBC said.

McFadden and Jones were not necessarily the judges’ choice but won the most votes from viewers after a series of dances, including a Charleston with the pair dressed as toy soldiers.

After the mandatory tears and smiles following the announcement, McFadden gushingly thanked his partner. “It feels completely surreal and I’m so in awe of everyone who started all this weeks ago. We’ve become such a tight unit and I love them all to bits,” he said.

“All of us are winners because we’ve gotten here and I love every single one of them to bits. And this woman, this woman is the most amazing woman.”

The pair competed against the singer Alexandra Burke and Gorka Marquez; Debbie McGee and Giovanni Pernice; and the Hollyoaks actor Gemma Atkinson and Aljaž Škorjanec.

Of course, it wouldn’t have been Strictly without a variety of minor controversies. Some viewers took exception to 59-year-old McGee’s showdance with Pernice, which earned them 38 out of 40 points, pointing out that McGee had trained at the Royal Ballet School as a professional dancer.

Other fans suggested the new head judge, Shirley Ballas, looked disappointed as McFadden and Jones took the glitterball trophy. Despite accusations that she had been rooting for McGee, Ballas tweeted a picture of herself with the winning pair soon after the show ended, with the words: “So deserved! Massive congratulations to @mrjoemcfadden and @Mrs_katjones @bbcstrictly 2017 winners! #Strictly.”