Take That to beat Priests to Xmas No.1

The Circus – the band's fifth studio album, and the follow-up to 2006's successful Beautiful World – entered the charts last week at No.3, but unlike many high first week chart entrants, sales of the album have sustained extremely well, and they have now surged to the top of the charts. There is no new entrant in the latest Top 10, suggesting that all the balls may now be in play, as the stores crank up for the final Christmas rush.

Having scored a No.1 in the UK and Ireland with 'Greatest Day', the first single from The Circus, it was obvious that Take That were still at the leading end of the game commercially. Their 2009 tour also sold out immediately, being described by the promoters as the "fastest selling tour in UK history". Their Irish date, an Aiken Promotions/MCD co-promotion at Croke Park, has also sold out.

However The Circus has been especially warmly received by critics, marking a new stage in the evolution of a band, who must now rank among pop's great survivors – the absence of Robbie Williams from the current reincarnation notwithstanding.

The only other significant chart mover is Girls Aloud, whose Out Of Control moves into the Top 20 at No.17.