Strictly Come Dancing rose to nearly 8 million viewers last night (October 3), according to overnight data.
The BBC One dancing show nabbed 7.92 million (38%) and peaked with 8.95 million (43.1%) at around 7.30pm, despite competition from the Rugby World Cup.
England's defeat at the hands of Australia had an average audience of 7.98 million (36.5%) on ITV, with a peak of 10.96 million (45.5%) towards the climax of the match at 9.30pm.
Elsewhere on BBC One, Doctor Who episode 'Under the Lake' drew 3.74 million (16.3%) from 8.25pm before Casualty treated 3.77 million (17%) afterwards.
On BBC Two, repeats of Dad's Army and Cradle to Grave managed 1.47 million (6.4%) and 542k (2.4%) respectively.
Channel 4's Celebrity Benchmark with Paddy McGuinness appealed to only 288k (1.4%) in the 7pm hour. Britain's Best Loved Sitcoms entertained 616k (2.6%), and the movie Bridesmaids was enjoyed by 768k (4.3%) from 9pm.
On Channel 5, Now That's Funny! logged 653k (2.8%) and Football League Tonight interested 302k (1.5%).
