THE X Factor's first live show of the series was 1.7 million viewers down on last year – while Strictly Come Dancing was more than a million up.

The ongoing ratings woes will be an unwanted present for X Factor boss Simon Cowell who celebrated his 53rd birthday yesterday.

While X Factor was a bigger draw than arch rival Strictly, its 9.2 million average audience was down markedly on the first show of the live stages in 2011, which pulled in 10.9 million.

And Strictly, which screened its first live Saturday night show at the weekend, enjoyed an audience of 8.7 million, compared to 7.5 million who tuned in for the equivalent show last year.

X Factor was still the most watched show on British TV on Saturday night. But its share of viewers was well down on 2011, accounting for an average 40% of the available audience, while last year it pulled in 49%.

And its peak audience was well down too, with 12.7 million for the first live show last year, but 10.3 million on Saturday night.

Last year, the X Factor started out on top but Strictly began to race ahead as the competition went on, although the ITV1 show had won out again by the final stages.

On Saturday, X Factor viewers saw Christopher Maloney return to the show as the wildcard entry, while, in Strictly, Lisa Riley became a surprise star with the highest score of the night after she wowed with a cha cha cha.