X Factor winner Matt Cardle secured the highest number of votes in every week of the competition apart from one, figures have revealed.

The only time the 27-year-old from Essex did not win the public vote was in week one when Mary Byrne took the top spot.

Talking about being told that he was consistently ahead of his fellow contestants, he said: “If I’d known that I don’t know if I’d have relaxed a bit more or put more pressure on myself.”

The total number of votes cast for the whole series was more than 15 million. In the final Matt secured 44.61% of the public vote followed by Rebecca with 38.63%, One Direction with 12.69% and Cher with 4.07%.

The X Factor enjoyed its most successful ever run, with an average of 12.9 million (48%) watching the seventh series on ITV1.

The broadcaster said it marked an increase of more than 9% on the average of 11.8 million (45% share) for the 2009 series, which was previously the most watched.

The Xtra Factor followed last night’s show with a peak audience of 3.3 million and averaged 2.5 million (10.3%), giving the ITV2 programme its second highest viewing figures ever.

Peter Fincham, ITV’s Director of Television, said: “The spectacular performance of last night’s final show is the highlight of a terrific seventh series for The X Factor and caps a superb autumn for ITV1.

“An audience of almost 20 million is a phenomenal achievement for any channel in the modern digital age, and to attract almost 50% of the viewing public over 17 weeks is a great reflection on the work of the teams at (producers) Syco, talkbackThames and ITV, and the fantastic acts on this year’s show.”