TV Overnights: Blackout ends with 3m viewers for BBC One
Washed-out paranoid thriller Blackout (BBC One, 9pm) came to a close last night as Christopher Eccleston struggled with his responsibilities as Mayor of the grimmest city committed to film. The show was held firmly in reality but revelled in the dark and dirty aesthetics of a future nightmare scenario.
The look of the show and general tension might have been a bit much for some; the programme was down 1.5 million viewers compared to its debut. The third and final instalment attracted an average audience of 3 million viewers and a 13% share.
Over on ITV1 at 9pm was Andrew Lloyd Webber, ready to fill that space in your heart left empty by The Voice UK and the other similarly ‘unique’ shows. Thankfully viewers won’t have to wait that long to find out who their new West End Superstar is – there seem to be more episodes a week than Coronation Street. Last night was episode five (out of 12!) and our two bottom Jesuses emoted their little hearts out to Jason, Mel C and Dawn French. As usual ALW had the last say, with 2.8 million viewers tuning in to see more dreams being crushed.
Earlier, the first episode of Coronation Street (ITV1, 7:30pm) attracted Monday’s biggest audience as Peter Barlow attempted to take his son Simon off our TV screens once and for all. The nation cheered, stuck to the edge of their seats to see if he’d be successful. The first portion of the Northern drama attracted 8.3 million viewers, resulting in a 39% share.
On BBC One EastEnders (8pm) scored a 33% audience share as Lola came to the realisation that being pregnant does alter a young person’s life in one or two ways. 7.6 million viewers tuned in to see her boredom get out of hand, leading to her being arrested for criminal damage. The second episode of Coronation Street (8:30pm) saw the momentum slip slightly as viewers watched little Simon make up his mind once and for all. The ‘heart-breaking’ scene was watched by 7.8 million viewers.
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.