Comedy awards lose ratings battle

The British Comedy Awards were trounced in the ratings by BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing.

Just 5.8 million viewers tuned into the 15th annual award ceremony, hosted by Jonathan Ross, compared to a peak of 9.1 million for the ballroom dancing show.

Just four years ago, the awards were attracting audiencs approaching 8 million.

Yet last night even a Susannah and Trinny makeover of talkshow host Trisha Goddard defeated the once must-see ceremony, with 7.3 million viewers.

Last nught also saw the first half of Channel 4's comedy drama The Last Chancers, co-written by and starring Adam Buxton of Adam and Joe fame, which attracted 1.1 million viewers.

Published: 23 Dec 2004