Simon Cowell 'head-butted' as he gets a kiss from X Factor's Anton

Simon Cowell had a weekend to forget on the X Factor after he complained he was "head-butted" on stage by a contestant, before one of his acts became the first to voted off this year's series.

The music mogul, who reportedly saw X Factor lose heavily in the ratings battle with Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night, also called girl band Alien Uncovered "Alien Nation" - a 1988 sci-fi film - during the double elimination show.

The six-piece were eliminated after failing to impress the judges with their version of Pressure by Sounds of Blackness in the sing-off, joining 37-year-old singer Bupsi from Leeds who received the fewest public votes.

Cowell, who is mentoring the over-25s category, had earlier clashed heads with his one of his acts, Anton Stephans, as the contestant went to kiss him after getting through to the next round.

After it was announced Bupsi was leaving the show, Cowell, 56, said: "I've just recovered from being head-butted in the face by Anton actually so I'm a bit dazed."

Alien Uncovered lost out in the sing-off to singer Kiera Weathers, who impressed with her emotional version of REM's Everybody Hurts.

After the result, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, who is mentoring the groups, said: "I think I'm in shock. I'm devastated."

ITV's X Factor reportedly pulled in an average audience of just 5.6 million viewers on Saturday, compared with BBC One show Strictly's 9.4 million.