Ratings war loom as Strictly Come Dancing returns

Strictly Come Dancing returns to TV screens tonight for a seventh series and is gearing up for a ratings war with The X Factor.

The celebrity couples take to the dance floor for the first show of the new series tonight, and will go head to head with the hit talent show for more than an hour on Saturday.

The two shows have occasionally overlapped by up to half an hour, although during the last series BBC1's Strictly usually finished before its ITV1 rival began.

The BBC has abandoned Strictly's traditional Sunday night results show in favour of an extended Saturday edition, which is part of the reason for the clash.

Earlier this week Strictly waltzed into the record books as the most successful reality TV format of all time.

The new series will see stars including former EastEnder Natalie Cassidy, retired world champion boxer Joe Calzaghe and Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood's estranged wife Jo do battle on the dancefloor.

Calzaghe has been romantically linked to his dancing partner Kristina Rihanoff, but his ex-girlfriend Jo-Emma Larvin said she will still be voting for him.

The series also sees former winner Alesha Dixon joining the judging panel. The singer replaces choreographer Arlene Phillips.