Yes, the Friday shows have always felt flat to me. Never understood why they don't put it on Sunday. Only explanation I can think of is that they started it back in 2010, when they were still running scared from X Factor so didn't want to a longer show on Sunday, and they now do it just for continuity.

Isnt all publicity good publicity - I am pretty sure that what Cowell believes anyway.

Crikey all the fanboys are on it for their respected channels tonight! I for one have been watching Gogglebox and Thor so cant really comment.

Underbelly is midway through its run unfortunately, although it'll probably come back round again. Dexter and Deadwood are from the beginning.

No, not really. In this day and age, people are so fed up with XF and all its fix stories, that more of these fix stories actually puts people off watching. People are much more media savvy these days, they know that it wasnt Tweedy who made the decisions on tonight's show but it was the producers' decisions who told her what to say. She even allegedly was looking down at a piece of paper with the script throughout all of tonight's show which made this blatant.

There's even a thread on the XF forum for further discussion: Critics and social media calling tonight's XF the 'worst episode ever': http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2013230

I watched Strictly. I found it boring and repetitive and missing Bruce. Have given up on X factor also

Which you just created...

Oh, I wonder who the OP is? Brilliant, just brilliant! .

While everyone else was watching Strictly or X Factor or Gogglebox (or perhaps all three with side-by-side tellies like Grandad Trotter in Only Fools And Horses), me and Mum were watching our recordings of Would I Lie To You? (hilarious) and The Job Lot (didn't seem as funny as before but it's got Laura Aikman in the cast now so I don't care.)

I don't think they've changed Twitter algorithms much if at all. Trending is still based on number of mentions in a period of time. Doesn't matter how long a programme has been on air or off air.

A thread that you started! Haha, give it a rest will you, you'll burst a blood vessel racing around the Internet like this. I bet your web browser has 20 tabs open.

Just catching up on XF now. The main problem with the episode is the unbearable crowd. Boot camp should be done without an audience IMO.

The thing about the X factor is everyone is now talking about it be it good or bad. In tommorows press I doubt we will see a lot about strictly!!

Oh dear Samuel, oh dear!

I think jonnyblack is correct and a sudden spike in activity is a factor, I've read it somewhere before.

Beamly is useful if you simply want to know which of the two was generating more tweets and I'm fairly sure TXF was in front by a country mile.

Don't worry, Bruce is back at Christmas

Apparently *something* was changed because Justin Bieber was a constant top trend for years on end.

Is this new? X Factor has always revelled in controversy and confrontation. It's The Jeremy Kyle Show with music. You need a scrub after watching it some weeks.

Despite all the stories slating TXF, the papers would miss it if it was gone. You only have to see how many made up/paper thin front page stories they run about it even at the times of year when it isn't on.

The TV Critics would definitely miss it. If ITV's weekend line up was Family Fortunes or something run of the mill, like it was 15 years ago, they'd struggle to fill their column.

Thanks for this information, Dan.

It was the pure negativity from start to finish that I'm complaining about. Not the controversy. There is usually comedic moments, nice chat with Dermot (who has been invisible this year) and between judges.

Congratulations you are the first to mention "missing Bruce" I was waiting for that.
I do admire your taste on ditching XF though.

The results of the Yorkshire jury (not me you understand as I watch neither) are that they disliked XF quite a lot and thought SCD was so so. Both must do better.

Generating headlines isn't always the same as generating ratings. If that were true Good Morning Britain would be number one at breakfast.

He thinks by constantly slagging off ITV and everything on it on this forum, by starting threads pushing opinions on people, that he will eventually convince enough people to stop watching, that he will be able to say that he played a personal part in ITV's downfall. What he doesn't realise is that this is just a little online forum that would effect the ratings in no way whatsoever.

Tonight's X Factor, by no means the best, was certainly not the worst episode in the history of the show. There were plenty with Gary Barlow etc that were far worse.

However, there was a lot not to like about. The audience were appalling. I thought it was compelling to watch, I'm just not sure if it was an enjoyable experience.