X Factor boss Simon Cowell is facing humiliation in his battle to win the TV ratings war as it emerged Sunday episodes of the music show have been scrapped.
Live episodes of the Celebrity version of the programme begin on Saturday, but bosses have decided to stick to just one a week.
The move comes after years of declining viewing figures for ITV’s once flagship entertainment show as it competes against BBC juggernaut Strictly Come Dancing.
Cowell has recruited big names from both sides of the Atlantic for his new spin on the long-running franchise in a battle to win back viewers.
But on Saturday it sunk to a peak of just 4.3million in the ratings, compared to 10million for BBC dancing show.
The X Factor results episode has aired on a Sunday for the past ten years and traditionally featured performances from chart-toppers before a sing-off to determine which act was going home.
Axed: The X Factor will no longer air on Sunday nights, with the long-standing results episode of the ITV show scrapped from schedules
Instead the results will air on Saturday in an extended episode and Sunday night’s gap in the schedule will be filled by Stephen Mulhern’s popular quiz show Catchphrase
Instead the results will air on Saturday in an extended episode and Sunday night’s gap in the schedule will be filled by Stephen Mulhern’s popular quiz show Catchphrase.
The first live show of The X Factor: Celebrity kicks off at 8.20pm this weekend, ending at 10:10pm.
A source told MailOnline: ‘The X Factor: Celebrity is a new show and a new format and as such will be scheduled differently to previous years with one bumper show on a Saturday.’
Big weekend: The stars of the X Factor: Celebrity were pictured leaving a London rehearsal studio on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s first live show, pictured Love Island group The Islanders Samira Mighty, Wes Nelson and Eyal Booker
Fun and games: Eyal and Samira had some fun on an electric scooter after their latest round of rehearsals
Last week’s episode of X Factor peaked at 4.3million but this figure does not include those people watching on ITV Hub, Smart Phone, Tablet, Catch-up and Digital platforms.
It was ITV’s biggest show of the night and the most watched show on TV in its slot, doubling BBC1’s rating among young adults.
But despite X Factor winning its time slot, over on BBC 1 Strictly pulled in 9 million viewers and peaked with nearly 10 million when it aired immediately before The X Factor.
Strictly’s ratings climbed this week after drawing 8.5 million in the previous week.
Hunks: Two out of the three members of rugby group Try Star, Thom Evans and Levi Davis were also seen at rehearsals
Social media stars: Influencers girl group V5 were spotted taking a break outside the studio
The results are in: The X Factor: Celebrity aired its second star-studded episode on Saturday night, but ratings show the ITV franchise is trailing behind BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing
In its opening week X Factor Celebrity peaked at 5.3 million and won its time slot – 8.35pm to 10.05pm – with a 27.3% audience share, as well as being the most watched show on ITV.
The first show was watched by more than 7 million viewers across the week. It was the biggest show of the night among young viewers (18-34 year olds), beating Strictly by 51% and standing as ITV’s 2nd biggest show of the entire year.
The show suffered a dip from last year’s opening edition of 5.7 million though.
In 2018, X Factor – which saw Louis Tomlinson, Robbie Williams and Ayda Field take to the panel – launched with 5.7 million viewers and a 34 per cent share of viewing, up by two share points the previous year.
Top of the leaderboard: The second episode of the brand new celebrity edition of the show peaked at 4.3 million while rival Strictly peaked with nearly 10 million
Celebs: Cowell has recruited big names for his new spin on the franchise with the second episode determining which stars had made it through to the live shows (pictured Ricki Lake)
Fan favourite: Meanwhile The Chase star Jenny Ryan was also given a last minute slot for the lives after Saturday’s episode showed her being axed by Nicole Scherzinger
The episode peaked with 6.3 million viewers, a 3 per cent share, and had a 48 per cent share of 16-34s viewing.
A source told MailOnline: ‘We are thrilled with the reaction to the launch of The X Factor: Celebrity and the fact it won the night among the key 16 to 34s demo, peaking with half of all young people watching TV.
‘The feedback from viewers has been overwhelmingly positive and The X Factor: Celebrity had a rare 14 trends across the night on Twitter.’
Alongside music mogul Simon, musician Nicole Scherzinger and entertainment manager Louis Walsh have returned as judges on this year’s spin-off series.
Emotional scenes: The celebrities who made it through to the next round on Saturday night included a tearful Megan McKenna
The celebrities who made it through to the next round on Saturday night include US talkshow queen Ricki Lake, TOWIE’s Megan McKenna, a band made up of Love Island 2018 competitors and rugby hunks Ben Foden, Thom Evans and Levi Davis.
The close of the second episode saw Simon Cowell making a call to Vinnie Jones, who was forced to pull out of the first round of auditions following the tragic death of his wife.
Vinnie was heard accepting Simon’s request to appear on the live shows.
Meanwhile The Chase star Jenny Ryan was also given a last minute slot for the lives, after viewers were left outraged by judge Nicole Scherzinger’s to send the talented singer home.
Tough competition: Strictly meanwhile featured guest judge Alfonso Ribeiro for its fifth live show of the 2019 series