Elstree Studios topped the viewing tables as its very own Strictly Come Dancing beat the X Factor in the weekend ratings battle.

The BBC One dance contest, which is filmed at the studios, pulled in 6.5 million viewers on Friday as it went head to head with the ITV show, which had only 5.8 million.

On Saturday, the shows overlapped again but Strictly kept on top with an audience of 8.1 million, while X Factor drew in 7.7 million.

Friday's X Factor had one of the smallest audiences since it launched in 2004, but still doubled ITV's usual figure for a Friday evening.

Strictly's Saturday show was down by more than a million on the 9.2 million who tuned in last year to see the second instalment of the series.

The show made its debut for 2014 after a preview launch show three weeks ago, with celebrity couples being split into two groups over Friday and Saturday to perform their first routines.

No-one was eliminated but judges' scores will be carried over to those next weekend when the couple with the lowest score couple will leave.