One in six tune into X Factor juggernaut on TV3

MORE than 700,000 people – one in every six of the population – tuned into TV3 on Sunday to decide on the fate of Aiden Grimshaw and Katie Waissel vying for glory.

Admittedly the presence of Mary Byrne, 50, a supermarket employee from Ballyfermot, has boosted the show’s overall attraction for Irish TV viewers, but by any standards such audience figures are hugely impressive.

The TV juggernaut that is X Factor is driving the highest rating figures for any programme in recent TV history. Its Saturday edition gets five times as many viewers as its competition on RTÉ 1.