‘X Factor’ bosses were forced to pull Saturday’s public vote after the show was blighted by sound problems.
Viewers were left unable to hear many of the contestants’ performances or judges’ comments, with many complaining they sounded like ‘Doctor Who’ villains, the Daleks.
To make matters worse, the sound distortion could not be addressed on-air as the show’s Fright Night special had actually been pre-recorded earlier in the afternoon.
All producers could do was flash up a message on screen saying: “We are sorry for the temporary interference in sound” after the problems began midway through the episode.
Then at the end of the programme, a message revealed Saturday’s vote had been cancelled.
“Due to a technical issue, tonight’s vote has been cancelled. It will open in tomorrow night’s show,” it read.
An ITV announcer said after the show aired: “We’re very sorry for the problems with the sound on the X Factor tonight.”
A spokesperson for the show added: “We apologise for the technical issue that affected the sound on part of tonight’s episode of The X Factor. We are investigating why this happened.
“We can confirm tonight’s public vote has been cancelled and will instead open in tomorrow night’s show at 8.30pm on ITV.”
Performances from contestants Danny Tetley and Anthony Russell were particularly affected by the problems.
The episode had to be pre-recorded and aired ‘as live’ so that judge Robbie Williams could catch a flight to Latin America to begin his tour there.
The singer will be absent from the ITV talent show for the next two weeks, with Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers filling in for him from Sunday night.
It is not the first time technical problems have hit this year’s live shows, as last month Danny Tetley had to start his performance again after being thrown when the announcer shouted the wrong name.
‘The X Factor’ continues on Sunday at 8.30pm on ITV.
