Girls Aloud win Christmas number one

Girls Aloud have officially topped the charts, claiming the coveted Christmas number one spot.

Their single, 'Sound of the Underground', along with an East 17 cover 'Stay Another Day', sold around 213,000 copies in the past week. One True Voice, meanwhile, were resigned to number two, having shifted 147,000 copies of the double A-side single 'Sacred Trust' / 'After You're Gone'.

"This is more than we ever expected," said Girls Aloud member Cheryl Tweedy. "A month ago we were all wondering if we were going to make it into the band. Now we're celebrating going to number one. It's been an exhausting few weeks but it has all been worth it."

As well as becoming the fiftieth Christmas number one in the history of the charts, the girls also gained the record for becoming the first band ever to have their debut single take the Christmas number one, as well as becoming the first girlband ever to debut at the number one position.

The boys' manager, Pete Waterman, said after the result: "The music went out the window and the fun went out of the window. In the last two weeks, the promotional campaign that Polydor [the girls' label] put together was brilliant but it just wasn't my style. I came into this compeition for the music."

Ctach Popstars: The Rivals Extra live on ITV2 right now for more reaction from the bands.