5.3m kick off New Tricks’ last hurrah on BBC One
After a painfully prolonged 288 day wait, Tuesday night finally brought sweet respite for middle aged viewers – and other demographics who should know better – who have been eagerly awaiting a fresh taste of mature crime-solving action that only New Tricks (9pm) can deliver.
After 11 series, numerous cast changes and a worryingly large amount of brutal murders, last night heralded the beginning of the end for the extremely popular retired detective series as the bells began to toll for the last remaining original cast member.
After winning over viewers’ hearts and minds with their particular brand of seasoned smart-alecky reasoning, the tenth series in 2013 saw Amanda Redman, James Bolan and Alun Armstrong all jettison themselves off the possible sinking ship amid rumours of run-ins with the writing staff.
In came Tamzin Outhwaite, Nicholas Lyndhurst and Denis Lawson to fill in the gaps and attempt to win over the dedicated audience with their slightly different chemistry, leading to a noticeable fall in interest from a weary fan base.
Series 12 kicked off with a two part episode which promised an emotional exit for Last Man Standing, Denis Waterman.
Series nine opened up with 7.8 million viewers in 2012, falling to 7.5 million a year later. Last year saw the 11th run fall to an overnight figure of 5.8 million viewers as the line-up changed beyond recognition.
While last night kicked off the final run in style, it couldn’t quite attract the live audience of yesteryear, as the swansong of ex-Detective Sergeant Gerry Standing (Waterman) netted 5.3 million viewers.
The first half of Gerry’s final mystery saw his past inevitably catching up with him and secured a 26% share, easily bagging the 9pm slot for BBC One.
On the topic of sentimental farewells, ITV aired a re-edited re-run of 2013’s The One and Only Cilla Black (9pm) which included an emotional farewell from original compere and good mate Paul O’Grady.
An audience of 3.4 million viewers (originally 4 million viewers first time around) tuned in to see Cilla and Paul take a walk down memory lane and even included an awkward visit from practical stranger Amanda Holden, proving that the benchmark of talent would actually show up at the opening of an envelope. The fitting send-off brought in a 16% share for ITV.
For those that wanted to spend the rest of the night in the company of a slightly altered version of Swinging Pricilla, 10:40pm brought a repeat of 2014’s Cilla (ITV) starring stage treader Sheridan Smith as the young, enthused and ambitious Liverpool typist with dreams of stardom.
Originally the first episode of the well-received three-part drama pulled in a whopping 6.1 million viewers back in September, with yesterday’s late night repeat scoring 1.2 million viewers and a 12% share.
At the same time Channel 4 was offering up a little bit of excitement and adventure in Hunt for the Arctic Ghost Ship (9pm) 1.4 million viewers watched the search for a chilly ship at the bottom of the sea floor, resulting in a 7% share.
Over on Channel 5 there was a ‘special edition’ of Can’t Pay? We’ll Take It Away (9pm) which continued the broadcaster’s penchant for barrel-scraping welfare programming. 1.4 million viewers tuned in to see the edition which showed people on benefits get their consumer goods ripped out of their homes, resulting in a 7% share.
Earlier at 8pm Holby City brought 5.4 million viewers and a 26% share to BBC One while The House That £100K Built (BBC Two) brought in 1.7 million viewers and a 9% share.
On ITV Love Your Garden (8pm) netted 3.2 million viewers, Channel 4’s The Three Day Nanny (8pm) brought in 957,000 viewers and The Dog Rescuers with Alan Davies on Channel 5 secured 1.1 million.
[advert position=”left”]But it was the latest in a long line of rural village-set disasters that bagged the day’s top spot as the unwise residents of Emmerdale (ITV, 7pm) decided it was a good idea to go to another wedding. To make matters even worse, it was an hour-long special, clearly signalling that something bad was going to happen.
6.4 million viewers watched as an out-of-control helicopter crashed through the roof of the village hall, hopefully culling the majority of unlikable characters that populate the demented community. The 60 minute set piece brought in a 33% share for ITV.
Which meant that poor old EastEnders (BBC One, 7:30pm) got fairly trampled on by panicked soap fans, with the chance of seeing Richard Blackwood beaten up not even enough to entice viewers. Just 4.3 million viewers visited the Square for the (comparatively) relaxed drama, resulting in a 21% share.
Overnight data is available each morning in mediatel.co.uk’s TV Database, with all BARB registered subscribers able to view reports for terrestrial networks and key multi-channel stations. Overnight data supplied by TRP are based on 15 minute slot averages. This may differ from tape checked figures, which are based on a programme’s actual start and end time.
To get all the latest Mediatel Newsline updates follow us on Twitter.