An average of 11.8 million viewers tuned in to watch Ore Oduba and his professional partner Joanne Clifton lift Strictly's Glitterball trophy last night – cementing the show's current series as the most popular in its 12-year history.

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In the two hour and 15 minutes bumper final, the audience peaked at 13.1 million as Oduba saw off competition from Danny Mac and Louise Redknapp to claim this year's title. With the X Factor ending last weekend, Strictly was up against screenings of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit on ITV and walked away with a 53.5% audience share.

The number of viewers is 800,000 up on the 11 million who watched the Strictly final in 2015 – although that edition was split into two separate broadcasts with a gap between the final and results show.

Last night's show also included a farewell to Len Goodman – the outgoing Head Judge who will depart the series this Christmas after 12 years on the panel.

This year's Strictly series – considered by many to be one of the best – has trounced X Factor in the ratings with the ITV singing contest's final last week pulling in an average of just 5.5 million viewers (peaking at 6.2m) as Matt Terry was named the winner.

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Since its launch show in September, an average of 11.3 million viewers have watched Strictly's Saturday night episodes with Sunday's results show scoring a 10.5 million average.

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Strictly Come Dancing will return for one final outing on Christmas day with a string of returning celebrities including Frankie Bridge, Ainslie Harriott and Gethin Jones.

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