I'd switch Dannii for Cheryl. Cheryl hasn't been as good as expected. She's no longer "the nation's sweetheart". Not sure why.

It's a shame really. It's not really like they've been doing anything wrong. It's been a decent series, and last night's semi-final had some great performances. Don't know what to suggest.

I have notified the head of BBC Marketing regarding your concerns and they have agreed, just for you, to reinstate the 2012 Curtain! You're a hard man to please Robbie!

The only gripe I have is what's the point of having a lovely piece of music attached to them when some continuity announcers (Duncan I'm talking about you) turn the volume down and talk endlessly over it!? Speak by all means, but don't lower the volume of the music.

Osman's said he forgot to include the HD ratings for X Factor.

Duncan doesn't turn the volume down to much. It's Peter Offer that does that. Bloody annoying!

You're right, he doesn't do it too often, but he did this morning going into Fern Britton Meets. The funny thing is that the idents don't seem to work as well without the music being heard.

I think losing Only the Young and Stevie in the same week hurt the show. They needed that sense of fun and performance to remain.

It's been a decent series overall but there have been dud weeks - particularly week two and last week. And after both of those weeks the show suffered a decline.

I don't think there is much they can do now. People are not going to return. Even at it's current level ITV will still want it. The saddest thing about TV in general is it may still be profitable enough to renew in 2016 if it's below 6m because the majority of shows would have dropped with it.

1. XF's main problem is it is stuck in a time warp. The staging, graphics, voiceovers, lighting etc is all so 2010 and prior. They should have refreshed the format more significantly, introduced judges scoring, re-scored the theme tune.

2. There were too many contestants. Song lengths usually too short unless the show was like 3 hours long.

3. Themed weeks cause chaos and wreak havoc and stop any of the contestants growing into their OWN artist. Irritating.

4. The show's not strong enough to air across 2 nights - Sat/Sun - anymore. It needs to air on ONE night to air performances and results later in the evening. The momentum isn't there and people are picking one or the other and don't give a crap about the result. I would choose Sunday nights over fewer weeks and start the auditions later in the Autumn/away from Summer.

5. Too many guest slots and not enough guests resulting in some embarrassing bookings - making the show look cheaper than it already does.


That said I've still enjoyed the series more than any of the Borelow era, but they didn't make enough effort to say "this is the X Factor 2014 and it's cool again" - in fact they made an effort to rewind the clock and keep things exactly the same (staging, lighting, VTs etc) and I think that's contributed to the fatigue.

It needs to be totally revamped on every level from next year - that's staging, hosting, production, format, scheduling, branding...

There's also too many televised repeats and performances are put onto YouTube/iTunes immediately. The machine is a monster and it's out of control.

XF is targeted at teenagers those who buy music, to them it's no longer relevant, by kids do not watch it, it's no longer cool or the talk of the school. Simon and Louis are like grandfathers to the target audience and the feeling is, seen it all before, done it all before.

Get younger judges in, like Rita Ora or Jessie J Or Ellie Goulding, ones the audience can connect with. Get the show about the singers not the judges, so introduce the judges in a SCD style, " once" not voice over, walk on, and introduced a second time one by one, that's for thier egos but boring TV.

Cut the bloated, add ons go straight to the singers, thier Songs, their skills, and cut the novelty acts, the ones there as judges fodder for put downs.

Cut it to one show with the results at the end rather than the next day for telephone income.

And, to add insult into Cowell's injury, Madonna has snubbed his invitation to appear in the final.

She has a good agent.

it's been a decent series and easily the best year since 2010- it never really worked with Gary Barlow. But the audience has essentially HALVED in 4 years (2010 averaged 14.13 m viewers per episode).

Viewers have clearly got a bit tired of the format. And starting it at 8pm (due to a resurgent Strictly) has gradually eroded the audience. 7/730pm was always the ideal start time.

It could be more annoying, it could be Delroy announcing, as it was last night.

Maybe but introducing younger panelists (Tulisa, Kelly, Nicole, to a lesser degree Gary) didn't really work either. I guess they could move Alesha across from Britain's Got Talent for Mel but Louis is a tough one because he plays the clown so perfectly and they'd need someone to inject that sense of madness if they replace him (Bruno does it on Strictly; David on Britain's Got Talent; will.i.am to a lesser extent on The Voice). And why would Alesha be happy to move from a relatively steady ship to a fast sinking one?

I think the show's time is up to be honest. If they axed it now and returned to the format in a decade or so maybe it'd find some new interest. As it is, it's goin to be bled dry.

Yes, that was baffling. Because it was Emily until 6.10pm! Is it usual for announcers to change so late in the day?

As expected for SCD/XF really. I dont know where XF goes from here and it will be interesting to see what changes get made etc. Atlantis struggling like we knew it would although its getting a similar overnight to Casualty which at these levels must come under some scrutiny too.

To be honest I think XF have dodged a bullet there. Madonna is yesterdays news !!!

More like last century's news. I totally agree, talk about a hasbeen. Even clapped out old X Factor is more relevant than her. That said I haven't heard anything about finale guests so it really could be a damp squib with 2 members of Westlife, Little Mix and Nicole Scherzinger or something.

I've answered about the judges in a previous post but I agree their intro could be quicker - though Strictly is going the same way with the dance on rather than having them sat behind their desk like every other series.

And Strictly has the bloated add ons of the couples on roller coaster and visiting haunted houses which frankly have nothing to do with the dancing. The X Factor needs VTs (as does Strictly) to dress the stage but both should go back to the original format of focusing on the previous week and rehearsals.

If they cut the show to just Saturday where do they air the results? An all in one show has resulted in a decline in figures after the performances have finished, both with Strictly in the past plus The X Factor in flash vote episodes. Plus the show would be on air to nearly 11pm in the early weeks which would be ridiculous.

Not exactly rocket science.

6.30 X Factor
8.30 Fluff
9.00 X Factor Results
9.30 Usual 9pm offering

Pick up a high +1 audience at 7.30 and bob's your uncle.

What was the last non talent/non reality show entertainment show to become what might be described as a big hit here?

I don't think anyone knows what the future of Saturday LE will be, except more half baked talent shows, which is why TXF will continue until it gets 3m

What could it's competition be next year? I highly doubt Atlantis will appear there. I guess Doctor Who could start later and run up to Christmas?

If people watch the 7.30pm episode they'll miss the results.

Besides, would it really be wise to air a show against 9m+ opposition in it's entirety when it's limping along against a programme which can't even claim 4m?

I think the younger judges " stabilised" the fall in viewers there was a downward trend but they did arrest thst, now it's excellerated again. Alesha is a no no, she added nothing to SCD right time right place, Darcy shows how poor Alsha was. On BGT she is carried by the other judges and lacks any input.


The SCD VTs need to be there to re set and clean the dance floor and bring props on and off. I think SCD is as slick as it can be, last night Tess and Cluadia had to fill while Franke had a quick change, the costume lady Vicky a Gill says the last couple have to change set side, not in thier room, and for safety all ladies are stitched in thier costumes to avoid malfunctions.

Therefore the SCD VTS have to be there, it's 90 seconds and the dancers have to be put in place sometimes in the air, on safety harnesses, you had confetti blasts last night on a few dances and on the next post AT its all gone.

XF has ad breaks to cover that.

The media already make a big deal about SCD v TXF now, as if viewers only have 2 hours of electricity and can only watch one. Imagine what the press would be like if it actually was SCD v TXF head to head.

Strictly has been running 5 minutes late the past few weeks, pointless running well into it's slot.