Strictly Come Dancing bosses have shocked fans by revealing that their grand finale will clash with that of the X Factor when it airs next month.

Normally those behind the BBC dance show avoid going up against their ITV rival on it’s last night, for fear of losing a large portion of their viewers. But after their recent ratings triumph it seems that producers are getting a bit more confident and possibly even cocky and for the first time, the two episodes will overlap.

There is no doubt that this was a strategic move by Strictly bosses, who are elated after attracting 1 million more viewers than The X Factor last Saturday. Their final starts after a 45 minute repeat of sitcom My Family, which we assume could have been shifted or cut if bosses had wanted to avoid a clash.

Now, for the first fifteen minutes of the X Factor grand final – which will be staged in Wembley Arena – ITV will be competing with the BBC series for viewers, a fact which won’t make them happy at all.

An ITV source told The Sun: ‘The BBC could easily avoid the overlap — all they have before Strictly is a repeat.’

An insider from the BBC replied: ‘The shows have overlapped several times this year. Only now, after they lost out at the weekend, do they complain.’

It couldn’t help that Strictly even did the Wembley thing first and their live special was broadcast from the London Arena last Saturday, which is what helped them achieve their bumper ratings.

So tell us, which show will you be tuning into next month? What will you be watching when The X Factor kicks off at 10pm? Leave your comments below.