'The X Factor' has suffered a double ratings blow in the UK after its results show was hammered by 'Strictly Come Dancing', in addition to its Saturday night programme.
For the first time this series, the Sunday edition of the ITV1 talent contest was beaten by its BBC1 rival.
It comes on the back of a Saturday night drubbing which saw 'Strictly' pull in two million more viewers than 'The X Factor' – the biggest lead for years.
'The X Factor' had further woes when last night’s programme – which saw Kye Sones given the boot – mustered up an average audience of 9.2 million viewers, even including viewers of the +1 catch-up channel.
But 'Strictly', which featured Colin Salmon’s exit, was way in front with 9.6 million. It piled on 400,000 viewers from the previous week.
'The X Factor' has been struggling to match audiences of previous years and the Saturday night shows are down about four million compared to this stage in 2010, the last series featuring show boss Simon Cowell on the judging panel.