It appears that Simon Cowell is going all out to ensure that The X Factor beats Strictly Come Dancing in the ratings war after it was revealed that ITV talent show is set to be aired on a Friday, to clash with the first live dances on Strictly later this month.
If this were to happen, we would have the X Factor on our screens for three nights on the trot – for both the Boot Camp Judges’ houses stages of the competition.
We don’t think our social lives can handle it.
ITV bosses have claimed the shift was because the Sunday night scheduling was too full to feature an extended episode of the show, so shifting it to a Friday would be far more practical.
The plan to spread Boot Camp and Judges’ Houses across three nights has been in place for some time — before we saw the Strictly launch night billing
“These are always longer shows and this year we don’t have the space on Sundays," a source told The Sun.
However, cynics have argued that the move is purely tactical, after Strictly won the first round of the ratings war, with 9.4 million viewers, compared with 9.2 million.
And last night, the Beeb hit back with an insider adding:
“They claim they are doing everything to avoid clashes but are playing The X Factor on a Friday for the first time ever when Strictly’s first live show has been on Fridays for years.”
We think this could get nasty...