'Strictly' moved to earlier timeslot

BBC schedulers have decided to move Strictly Come Dancing to an earlier timeslot, reducing the show's overlap with The X Factor on Saturday nights.

From October 31, the BBC One ballroom contest will clash with its ITV1 rival for just 45 minutes, The Sun reports. The weekly episode is expected to kick off at 6.50pm and end at 8.45pm, while The X Factor's performance instalment will begin at 8pm as usual.

The news comes days after reports that Strictly's ratings were causing concern at the corporation. On Tuesday, an insider was quoted as saying that the programme's battle with The X Factor was not doing it "any good".

Strictly has so far lost out in each of its weekly clashes with Simon Cowell's singing competition. The most recent round saw The X Factor attracting 3m more viewers than the BBC's dance offering.

A BBC spokesman denied suggestions that the programme's new slot has anything to do with The X Factor. The representative said that schedulers are merely making way for a new show by impressionist Jon Culshaw.