Yeah, that'll help a bit. I reckon they'll probably get one or two extra audition/bootcamp shows so they don't have to start it any earlier though. ITV do seem to have got a good arrangement though, and it looks like Cowell is staying put on both panels. I hope Amanda Holden is replaced on BGT though, as she's dreadful and I think more of a revamp than just Piers Morgan leaving is needed.

Very surprised to read that last year's X Factor winner could only make #6 in the Singles chart on Sunday despite a coveted slot on the previous week's X Factor results show. Usher was only #10. Looks like TXF might not have as much of an influence on the charts this year. I wonder if having the contestants performances up for immediate download is having an impact on the sales for the big acts that appear? Whatever the reason I can't imagine Syco are pleased with Joe McElderry's sales.

I think she's the only one guaranteed a place.


Without Cowell they might axe Idol completely. What will be interesting is whether they fast track XFUSA or air it after ours has finished.

I'm a bit surprised to read that Cowell might not do the BGT auditions because the BGT auditions take place in January/February so it won't clash against anything else. He's already said XFUSA auditions are taking place in March. I see no reason why he can't do the BGT auditions?

It is with regard to huge peaks in primetime where I presume ITV make a mountain of money, but I think BBC1 is marginally ahead in primetime over the year thus far(though I imagine this will be clawed back in the next weeks) and overall share for ITV1 is down about 8% even after the huge impact of the summer football. Downton Abbey is a huge hit but not quite at the Doc Martin levels of last year-next year they will have both but will have a barren summer football wise. Swings and roundabouts I guess but the commercial world is as difficult as ever even when you have some very big sweets.

After the last two Royle Familys, I'd lost faith in Caroline Aherne, who I think is a genius. But 'The Fattest Man in Britain' was beautiful, my TV highlight of 2009.

Yeah I thought that was odd (which is why I doubt it's true) as he's got nothing else on at that time and they're not exactly a big commitment (10-12 days of filming) so it would be very odd if he didn't do them but did the live shows (I presume they'll keep the stripped format - but not at 7:30pm with separate result shows again!).

Amanda said she was returning and they were just working around her Shrek schedule.

Anyone else think BGT might struggle without Simon? Even if it's just for the auditions.

Amanda + 2 new judges could be a difficult sell.

To be honest Im not surprised -Joe is more early sixties teen idol than anything else and its going to take more than that to carry an interest which for more and more people ends pretty much very soon after the finale these days.

I'm not at all surprised X Factor is returning in its same slot-after all the America venture is an experiment and it may not rate well (look at the Australia version!!). The UK version on the other hand is going from strength to strength why risk an incredibly successful product albeit for a potentially more lucrative one....

Maybe a little bit, but they tested it out with Louis replacing Simon last series and it didn't feel terribly noticable. That's why I think he may move Dannii or Louis across to BGT - 2 new judges is a hard sell and it would help if one was already known to the audience.

Ugh, why can't they get rid of her? Totally useless and right up Cowell's arse.


Possibly yeah. Personally I think he's more essential on TXF but Amanda and 2 new judges doesn't look too promising at the moment. Whilst I dodn't think the show itself missed him much when Louis Walsh filled in this year that was only for two half episodes and I'm not sure what impact a total departure would have. Obviously it depends on who they get and how big the names are but I can't see how it would work with him re-joining it at the live shows, as surely he'll quit altogether or do the whole series?

isnt that kind of risk taking exactly how fortunes are made, and what makes business people truly great?

Maybe he just wants a break?


I haven't checked, but I'm certain its nearly level with Doc Martin's figures from last year. Hard to tell though with only 2 sets of officials out.


If Ant and Dec are staying, it should still rate alright - by alright I mean a fair bit lower than this year, but still very good by usual ITV standards.

Depends who replaces Cowell. If its some z-list entity (or James Corden as I think I seen rumoured last week) then ratings will fall, but if its someone who's actually famous then it should still do well. It will drop though, in my view, no doubt about that. By how much, is again the question.

Yep, I'm going to assume Cowell is still going to appear in the BGT auditions despite the reports. Until there's official confirmation, I can't see any particular reason why he wouldn't be able to commit to 10-12 days of filming. As Dancc says, Amanda Holden and a couple of new judges would be quite difficult to sell!


Yep, in terms of DS's primetime shares, BBC1 is ahead of ITV1 [inc. HD] this year: 21.6% to 21.2%. As you say, ITV have closed the gap in the last month and a half which has been pretty strong for them but I still think come the end of the year, BBC1 will be ahead.


Downton Abbey's first 4 episodes have actually rated better than Doc Martin's equivalent episodes from last year: DA averaging 8.5m to DM's 7.9m (overnights).

DM's average is dented by clashing against a couple of Waking the Dead episodes, but even comparing last night's rating to the same night last year, both DA and DM got equivalent tape-checked figures of 9.05m.


Probably, but he's managed it in the last few years when there's actually been more stuff that he's had to do in January, such as some American Idol Hollywood Week/pre-semi finals stuff.

That's right, the extended run came about because the plan was to move it twice weekly, but the governors said they couldn't do that and Eldorado as well. The final episode of that series, of course, did end up after the watershed, because it involved a huge riot and the Beeb later apologised for it and replaced the producer. It was moved at the last minute, too, they ended up whacking on Auntie's Bloomers where it should have been, and the Beeb looked completely hapless.


Well, the thing is, what's it offering that no other channel is doing? Nothing. You could swap it with DI Banks on ITV and nobody would notice. People won't subscribe to Sky One for stuff they can already see on BBC1 and ITV. Especially not when they schedule it opposite big dramas on BBC1 and ITV.

Same as why there'll never be a British HBO. If you couldn't swear on BBC1 and ITV, then there'd be a selling point, like there is in the USA.

I remember the hoo-ha about that final episode of Casualty. I have to confess I really enjoyed that episode, even though it was gloriously OTT.

Did it ever get repeated? I know that series was repeated on Friday nights at 8pm, starting around April, but I don't think they repeated every episode.

It'll be a pretty strange setup if he does join halfway through. As you say it would make more sense if he did the whole thing or not at all.

I guess his workload is an issue right now. Going to be a very busy autumn for him. Although it seems he'll be able to manage it flying back & forth that is definitely going to take a lot out of him.

Thanks for that-for some reason I had a 10 million figure in my head-maybe that was the previous series. Downton Abbey is obviously doing very well.

You're welcome. Doc Martin's highest ever overnight rating is 9.8m for the final episode of the 2007 series. It managed 9.5m in the overnights for last year's final episode, arguably as good an achievement considering it didn't air on STV. [In the officials, both of those episodes had 10.3/10.4m]

Doc Martin tends to build its audience week by week, surging to a peak for the final episode. So I think you're right in that Downton Abbey probably won't match the 9.5/9.8m heights Doc Martin has managed in the past.

Dunno, I do know Alan Yentob said that they got it wrong and it shouldn't have been broadcast, so I'm guessing it probably didn't. Of course the final Friday episode, in 1991, was dropped because it featured a plane crash and it was the anniversary of Lockerbie, and they showed it at 9.30 on a Thursday in February.

In Will Wyatt's book (the most used phrase in my posts) he says that they all missed it at the Beeb as it was too late as they were actually more concerned with a later episode. Although it was the last in the series, so I'm not sure what episode that would have been. In The Guinness Book of Classic British TV they note that the rescheduling also had the happy side-effect of moving it out of the way of the Morse repeats ITV were running at the time.

Exactly - it would be easier to sell three brand new judges actually.

The whole reports of Simon not attending auditions was based on the idea he didn't like who Amanda and Piers were putting through - but under what logic would completely removing his say change that? And do we really think Simon would want to risk missing out on being present should another SuBo moment happen again?


It would actually be easier for him to miss The X Factor auditions. They could then do what many suggested last week and just bring him in as a Wildcard judge, picking 3-4 acts from those rejected by the others.

Now there's a new confirmed BBC1 controller, we may get to see a radical overhaul of Saturday nights in general which may solve the SCD/X Factor/Doctor Who clash!

Maybe something like this?

FRIDAY BBC1

7.00pm The One Show
7.30 A Question of Sport
8.00 Strictly Come Dancing
9.30 Have I Got News For You
10.00 BBC News
10.35 Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow
11.20 The National Lottery Draws
11.30 The Friday Film

SATURDAY BBC1

5.30 Total Wipeout
6.30 Doctor Who/Merlin
7.15 Strictly Come Dancing: The Results
7.45 In It To Win It/Who Dares Wins
8.30 EastEnders
9.00 The Apprentice
10.00 BBC News
10.20 Match of the Day
11.40 The Football League Show

SUNDAY BBC1

5.00 Songs of Praise
5.35 BBC News
6.00 Countryfile
7.00 Antiques Roadshow
8.00 Casualty
8.50 Outnumbered
9.20 The Graham Norton Show
10.05 BBC News
10.25 The Sunday Film


I think this would be an incredibly strong weekend line up. With EastEnders on a Saturday, especially if the storyline was strong, this would be a great counter attack against The X-Factor. Weekends, particularly Sundays, are in urgent need of an overhaul as far as I'm concerned.

I wondered how the thread had managed to move on by 6 pages since mid-morning - and assumed that Simon Cowell must have broken wind or something...

And so it proved.

I know you've all been fretting for several weeks about TXF not being on next autumn. But, hands on hearts, did you all really think the great Format Milking-Dry Machine that is ITV plc was going to allow that to happen?


I'm still stunned by that Countryfile rating. And we're still barely into the depths of autumn - the clocks haven't even gone back yet!