Strictly dance set to X Factor tune

Viewers will be forgiven for thinking they have tuned into the wrong show this weekend as Strictly Come Dancing is due to feature a dance to one of the main themes from The X Factor.

Show bosses have lined up a performance to Carl Orff's Carmina Burana which famously features as a scene-setter each week in the live editions of the ITV1 singing show.

Daybreak star Richard Arnold and his partner Erin Boag are due to perform a paso doble to the tune on Saturday's show.

Not only does the piece of music regularly feature in The X Factor, but it also went on to be recorded by Rhydian Roberts, one of the finalists in the 2007 series of the talent contest. It was the the title track of his 2009 album.

The track - part of Orff's cantata Carmina Burana - is being used in the Halloween-themed programme with many of the tracks either coming from spooky films or having haunting associations.

Many people mistakenly assume the music was featured in the 1976 horror movie The Omen, although the score for that film - with its choral theme - was actually written by Jerry Goldsmith.

The track did feature in the rather less spooky movie Excalibur, about the story of King Arthur.

Strictly has been ahead of the ITV show in the ratings war, with a clear gap of more than a million for the past two Saturday editions.

An X Factor insider said: "It's nice to see Strictly taking inspiration from The X Factor by using this track."