9.5m watch Downton Abbey’s anti-climactic finale on ITV
Sunday night brought an uneventful end to the fourth series of Downton Abbey (ITV, 9pm) – the glamorous international super hit about magnificent period frocks, hidden heartbreak and now – apparently -pig farming.
The anti-climactic feature-length finale of 1920s-set drama saw the Crawley family and their underlings set up an exciting church bazaar – a convenient set piece that closed up series four by spending more time throwing up hints of the impending Christmas special storyline than wrapping current ones up.
While critics and fans have been voicing their concerns on the interweb for many weeks now, the seriously meandering and divisive series has managed to hold its own and has continued to be the shining jewel in ITV’s drama output.
Long-suffering fans of the drama that details the crippling social burdens of the privileged and the desperate lives of their servants stuck with the show despite last year’s traumatic Christmas special and the dour mood it cast over 2013’s proceedings.
9.5 million viewers tuned in to learn that Lady Mary’s epic bout of suitor-juggling looked set to be dragged out for another series at least, easily securing the 9pm slot with an audience share of 39%.
By comparison, Channel 4’s Homeland (9pm) was the second most watched show in the same time slot. While the drama proved to be the channel’s biggest hit of the day, it pulled in 7.8 million less people than its main rival, with a total of 1.7 million viewers watching the espionage drama’s third series reach the midway point.
At the same time on BBC One, Richard Hammond once again jumped in front of a green screen and gave us the best ‘in awe’ expression that the CBeebies Presenting School can teach, all for the second episode of Richard Hammond Builds a Universe (9pm).
The concept – which is basically, Brian Cox for the critically stupid – saw the Hamster distracting audiences from some impressive CGI animations with his usual brand of inane sound bites. 1.6 million viewers climbed upon Richard’s wobbly platform to gaze at the highly confused television concept, resulting in a 6% share.
Dinky period drama The Paradise (BBC One) went up against The X Factor Results (ITV) at 8pm and held its own with 4.7 million viewers catching up with the retail excitement of yesteryear.
The big news of the weekend was, of course, the competitive reality show action from ITV and BBC One with Sunday’s result shows attracting a bigger audience than the main event on Saturday night. Either way, Strictly Come Dancing scissor kicked past The X Factor on both occasions as both shows ramped up the manufactured tension in order to manipulate their audiences as effectively as possible.
Strictly even went as far as maiming the current favourite, with 10.1 million viewers tuning in to see ex Coronation Street star Natalie Gumede training to the point of collapse on Saturday night, netting a 43% share.
Saturday’s slice of karaoke hyperbole, The X Factor, straggled behind with 8 million viewers failing to tire of the continuous cycle of similar dramatic tricks. Last night’s duel repeated this outcome with The X Factor Results (ITV, 8pm) pulling in 8.9 million viewers while Strictly Come Dancing: The Results (BBC One, 7:15pm) topped the weekend’s viewing league with 10.3 million viewers.
Earlier in the day Countryfile (BBC One, 6:15pm) continued to fly the rural flag as a group of well-kept and well-spoken youngsters hung about the countryside and treated viewers to the tedious details of the agricultural lifestyle.
Which makes you wonder if viewers are simply mistaking it for Downton – finally an explanation for its current success. 7.3 million viewers sat on the edge of their seats as Matt Baker milked a few cows in Staffordshire, resulting in a frothy 34% share.
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