Strictly ban any mention of rival X Factor on spin-off show It Takes Two

BBC show bosses have banned any mention of The X Factor - after bleeping out the show's name when presenter Zoe Ball mentioned it on It Takes Two.

The rival ITV reality show came up while Zoe was interviewing current Strictly star Alexandra Burke, who won the singing contest in 2008.

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And the innocent chat took a strange turn when some of Zoe's words were replaced with birdsong to conceal the origin of Alexandra's fame.

The censoring of The X Factor name shows that tensions between the channels are still high.

Far from being dragged into the conversation, Zoe mentioned X Factor in passing when she noted that Alexandra would be dancing a Rumba to a Beyonce's Halo this week on Strictly.

The TV host thought it worth noting that it's been almost ten years after Alexandra dueted with Bey during her X Factor final, which saw her compete with JLS.

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So Zoe began: "Back in 2008 you did famously duet with Beyoncé... on The X Factor."

However, even though Zoe cheekily whispered the show's name, the sound of birds tweeting suddenly came over the TV broadcast.

Luckily, diva Alexandra - paired with Gorka Marquez on Strictly - found this funny, and laughingly replied: "Oh, what? Where?".

The singer and stage star ploughed on with the discussion anyway, commenting: "When I did sing with Beyoncé I wanted to give back to her, because the thing is it was such a highlight of my career and every time I watch it back it gives me goosebumps.

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"I feel like when we decided to [pick a Beyonce song for Strictly], it just felt right, and I love her and I love the song and I really hope we do it justice."

The Beeb may not be comfortable acknowledging the show that propelled Alexandra to stardom, but it may have to accept the songstress could win this series.

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Last week she bagged an incredible 39 out of 40 from its panel of judges - and this week Alex says she's "loving" practising the "intimate" Rumba too.

Meanwhile Gorka, despite being partnered with Ms Burke, has continued a flirtation with another contestant, actress Gemma Atkinson.

The pair have been spotted spending lots of quality time together, but Gemma has insisted no romance will blossom fully yet.

Denying that there's any tension between her and Alex, Emmerdale star commented on the Gorka scenario: "Maybe once the series is over, but not right now…”

Strictly continues tonight at 7.20pm on BBC1.

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