ITV wins Saturday ratings war as 10m tune in to X Factor and Ant & Dec

LONDON - ITV1 secured its highest ratings on Saturday night for 18 months with 'Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon' debuting with 8.5m and 'X Factor' pulling in a peak of 10.1m, leaving the BBC out in the cold.

'Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon', featuring celebrities participating in nostalgic ITV gameshows, gained an average 7.1m or 44% at 6.10pm for the commercial broadcaster.

The hour-long show opened with 80s classic 'The Price is Right' and a peak of 8.5m viewers or 48%.

The good news for ITV is the show is set to run for another six weeks as the Geordie duo resurrect gameshow favourites including 'Blockbusters' and 'Family Fortunes'.

The latest instalment of the 'X Factor' got the highest audience of the series so far with an average audience of 9.4m or 46%. It peaked at 10.1m or 49% over the hour.

The BBC's Saturday night ratings paled in comparison. The Ian Wright-fronted show 'What Kids Really Think' flopped with 1.6m or 9% at 6.35pm and Davina McCall reality series 'He's Having a Baby' managed a pitiful 1.4m or 10% between 7.05pm and 8.10pm.

Later on in the evening, 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Celebrity Special' with 'Big Brother' contestant Derek and former Tory MP Edwina Currie, garnered 5.7m over the hour, peaking at 6.5m or 28%.

'It'll Be Alright on the Night: 50 Years of ITV' performed well, averaging 6.1m or 29% and peaking at 6.8m or 38%.

However, the BBC fought back with 'Casualty' at 8.10pm with 7.5m or a 35% audience share, but the night well and truly belonged to ITV, achieving an overall 33.2% in peak time compared with the BBC's 24.5%, and beating its previous Saturday night ratings high in December 2003.

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