ITV ‘Bans Strictly Stars from Channel’ Ahead of Ratings War

If you thought the battle between The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing was just for show, think again. According to The Mirror, a BBC source is claiming that ITV is shooting down interviews with the stars of Strictly due to the ratings war. They said: “They aren’t taking anyone from Strictly and are ignoring us or telling us their shows are full when normally they are all over us wanting our stars on their shows.” The stars of Strictly Come Dancing 2015 (image: BBC) “It seems almost like some unofficial ban… Perhaps they don’t want to promote us when we are already ahead of The X Factor. But it does seem a bit petty. “We hope we can resolve this as we want everyone to tune into Strictly when we come back.” The X Factor judges and presenters (image: ITV). However an ITV spokesperson has played down the allegations, explaining: “We will have Strictly acts on ITV but the series hasn’t started yet. “We have bids in for some of the celebrities and will feature the show as part of a mix with everything else. Jamelia is a contestant and she will be appearing be Loose Women as normal.” Strictly will be making its proper return to the small screen on September 25th. The launch show was a huge success and beat X Factor in the ratings.