Dermot O’Leary reckons The Greatest Dancer should get a second series

Dermot O’Leary has stuck up for The Greatest Dancer amid its ratings woes, claiming it should get a second series.

The new talent contest is BBC One’s latest attempt to find a new Saturday night entertainment smash, but so far it has been struggling in the ratings.

The show – created by Simon Cowell – attracted a decent 4.7million overnight viewers for its launch earlier this month.

However, numbers fell to just 3.3million for the latest episode last Saturday – as ITV rival The Voice pulled 4.9million.

While The Greatest Dancer is facing scrutiny from the media, it has a supporter in Dermot O’Leary.

Dermot – who of course presents another of Simon’s big formats, The X Factor – has urged Beeb bosses not to make any rash decisions on the show’s future, suggesting it may need time to find an audience.

Speaking on the Series Linked podcast, he said: “I think it just has to bed in.

“It’s not as bad as in America, but we have a history over here in recent years of things going for one series. If they don’t rate through the roof, they get cancelled.

“I’d hate to see that happen to that show. If you’re going to commission a show like that, you may as well commission two to three series, see how it goes and hold your nerve.”

Dermot speaks from experience: in 2016, BBC chiefs canned his motoring contest The Getaway Car after a single run.

He is about to launch brand new ITV gameshow Small Fortune, which sees contestants play miniature games for huge prizes.

Meanwhile, after four weeks of auditions, The Greatest Dancer begins its live challenge shows this weekend.

Dance captains Cheryl, Matthew Morrison and Oti Mabuse will mentor their teams of three as they compete for viewer votes.

The Greatest Dancer continues on Saturday at 7.30pm on BBC One.

Meanwhile, Small Fortune begins on Saturday at 7.00pm on ITV.