A chain of events is unfolding that might finally kill off The X Factor

Viewers are losing interest and confidence in the show

After more than a decade of people singing “Fields of Gold” to slightly above average cruise ship standards, The X Factor might finally be on its way out.

The latest series started inauspiciously, with a record low audience of 5.6 million, but while its ratings might have improved slightly as it moved into live shows, it’s tripped up in other ways.

First we had new host Olly Murs - a man I’d liken to beige did it not do the colour a disservice - screw up one of the Deadlock rounds, leading to the suggestion that the show was fixed. It wasn’t, he’d just made a silly mistake, but the first seed of doubt had been sown.

This would blossom this week with some pretty blatant gaming of the show’s voting system from Simon Cowell, who appeared to whisper to his fellow judges to boot off his own act, Anton Stephans.

Over on the BBC, Strictly is prospering in the ratings, but also faces fix claims, with dancer Ola Jordan this week leaving the show - citing the judges’ dishonesty with their marking as the reason for her departure.

This all compounds the most egregious talent show deceit in August, when Britain’s Got Talent (another Cowell enterprise) straight up switched out a dancing dog for a double.

All of these rigging accusations of course add drama to the shows, but they also massively undermine them - whether true or not.

Viewers are starting to cotton on to the voting systems being kind of meaningless, and every year an act wins in an explosion of falling fireworks and confetti only to wind up doing night club appearances in Wolverhampton eight weeks later, the competitive dynamic means less and less.

Combine all this with the fact ITV - apparently completely out of ideas - has just added former BBC oddity The Voice and new show The Voice Kids to its roster, and it looks as though TV talent show fatigue will be more palpable than ever.

The Great British Bake Off continues to prove that the nation’s appetite for watching people make a strudel is insatiable, but singing Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love” to rapturous applause from a psychotically and unconvincingly giddy audience in some hellish event centre? I give it two more seasons tops.