The ratings battle between the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and ITV's The X Factor was one of the most ferocious in TV history.
Now The X Factor's creator Simon Cowell is back to challenge Strictly – with a Netflix talent show that aims to steal its Saturday night popularity crown.
The series, which starts this autumn, will follow the music mogul as he searches for singers to form a chart-topping boy band.
Sources close to the show say it mirrors The X Factor's format by having auditions followed by a 'judge's houses' stage.
Episodes to find the four or five who will form the band will be similar to The X Factor's live shows, which at their peak had 19 million viewers.
This time, shows will be pre-recorded for the streaming giant.
Producers believe 65-year-old Cowell's determination to prove the boy band format is relevant to today's music scene will make fascinating viewing and say the show is also likely to air in the US.
The series, which starts this autumn, will follow the music mogul as he searches for singers to form a chart-topping boy band
Producers believe 65-year-old Cowell's determination to prove the boy band format is relevant to today's music scene will make fascinating viewing and say the show is also likely to air in the US
It comes 15 years after Cowell founded smash-hit boy band One Direction on The X Factor.
A show insider said: 'You get a sense of how much Simon wants to succeed with his goal of topping the success of One Direction.
'It will be fascinating to see how he fares against Strictly when the BBC brings that back this year.
'Simon used to love the sport of taking on Strictly in the ratings war back in the day. It's about time Strictly had some competition.'
Sources say Cowell, who is still a judge on Britain's Got Talent, is convinced he has assembled a group of boy singers with the talent to rival One Direction's success.
Netflix chiefs are said to also believe the show offers 'much more' than just recycled scenarios of the old search-for-a-star format.
The X Factor ran for 14 years before being axed in 2018. It boasted judges such as Cheryl Tweed, left, and produced stars like Leona Lewis, Will Young, Little Mix and Olly Murs.
Cowell was devastated after One Direction's Liam Payne plunged to his death from a hotel balcony in Argentina last October and there were claims he was considering halting plans for his new project.
Whether he will speak of his grief over Liam on the Netflix series is not known.
The X Factor ran for 14 years before being axed in 2018. It boasted judges such as Cheryl Tweedy and produced stars like Leona Lewis, Will Young, Little Mix and Olly Murs.
It ran at the same time as Strictly which often had more viewers.
But Strictly's audience is down from 10.2 million in 2020 to 6.4 million last year, giving Cowell hope that after a seven-year break it's his turn to take the ratings crown.
