Two million viewers gone, phone votes plummet: How long will Simon Cowell tolerate the DUD factor?

-Two million viewers desert show as phone votes plummet
-Reports of unrest between judges behind the scenes
-Sources say Cowell is very 'happy' with new look show


By Georgina Littlejohn


Slump: Boy band Nu Vibe were voted off last night's X Factor live show which saw viewing figures and phone votes plummet


It has shed two million viewers compared to last year, was beaten into second place in the ratings by BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing and rumoured in-fighting between the judges has seen the new look X Factor plunged into crisis.

Phone votes have plummeted as fans desert the show and it seems Simon Cowell's huge gamble to leave his signature reality show to launch in the U.S., may have put the show in crisis.


Despite gaining 9.6 million viewers during Saturday's live shows, X Factor was beaten in the ratings by the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, which had 9.75million tuning in despite its barely revamped format.

Sunday night's results show rose to 11.4million viewers but compared to 13.4million for the same stage of the competition last year, it's clear that the new format is not quite yielding the much-hoped for results.

And today, ITV is expected to discover that phone votes for the first public eviction have also plummeted as newspaper reports today suggest that viewers have lost faith with the acts, which would mean a major drop in income for ITV and producers.

But despite the falling ratings, a drop in phone votes and reports of unrest behind the scenes, an upbeat Cowell insists he is very happy with the way the show is going.

A source told MailOnline: 'Simon's really happy with the show here in the UK. He has deliberately left the UK show to run without him and he absolutely trusts the team to do a great job.

Happy: Simon Cowell, seen here on the US X Factor last night, is pleased with how the UK show is going - and is said to have already spotted an act that he believes is a 'stand out star'

'Simon is very happy with how they are all doing and thinks all the judges are doing a fantastic job too. Not only that, Simon has already spotted an act on the show who he thinks is a clear standout star.'

Saturday night’s programme was watched by an average of 10.1million people, compared with 12million in the corresponding episode of the previous series.

In contrast, its BBC1 rival, Strictly Come Dancing beat the X Factor for all but five minutes of the half-hour period when the two programmes overlapped. It also had a larger audience share.

Fans of the show also took to their social networking pages in droves last night during the sing-off between the bottom two acts, boy band Nu Vibe and Frankie Cocozza, slamming their 'tuneless' performances.

But according to reports today, it's not just the falling ratings and phone votes that have hit the show, but unrest behind the scenes, with judge Kelly Rowland at the centre of the reports.

According to the Sun, the Destiny's child star, 30, has been throwing her weight around and bossing fellow judge Tulisa Contostavlos and telling Louis Walsh's acts to ditch his ideas.

An insider claimed that instead of focusing on her own acts, the girls, she has been meddling with the other acts.

Doing a great job: Cowell is pleased with the line-up of judges this year which include regular Louis Walsh and newcomers Tulisa Contostavlos, Kelly Rowland and Gary Barlow

Safe: Frankie Cocozza made it through to next week's show after the sing-off with Nu Vibe but was slammed on social networking sites for his 'tuneless' performance

Speaking to the paper, they said: 'Kelly is trying to turn this into The Kelly Show with her meddling - and it's really putting people's noses out of joint.

'The contestants love it as they're in awe of her but the judges hate it. Tulisa has properly fallen out with her after Kelly went to speak to her about the styling and songs and vocals for Rhythmix.'

The paper also claimed that Tulisa felt the force of the producers' wrath after arriving for rehearsals looking hungover and exhausted, having spent the night before cheering on her axed act Amelia Lily who performed at London club G.A.Y, and who Tulisa surprised with a birthday cake for her 17th.

A source said: 'She looked a wreck and spent most of the time just sitting behind the judging desk with her head slumped on it.'

Clash: Reports have claimed that Kelly has put Tulisa's nose out of joint by bossing her about and telling her what to do with her acts

Hungover: Sources also claimed that Tulisa was ticked off for arriving for rehearsals looking worse for wear after a late night supporting her axed act Amelia at a performance at G.A.Y


source:dailymail