TV Overnights: 6.8 million tune in for controversial ending to New Tricks
Poor Dr Monroe (ITV1, 9pm). Just when he thought he finally had the prime time slot all to himself, the BBC go and do a 360, robbing him of his rightful place in the spotlight.
After four weeks of being (perhaps unfairly) trashed by the BBC’s ageing sleuths it looked like the medical drama would air the final two episodes of the second series without serious competition – it was presumed New Tricks wrapped up last week. Alas, it was not meant to be.
The first series of Monroe aired in March 2011and performed much stronger when it ran against repeats of New Tricks – the very first episode pulled in 4.6 million viewers.
Channelling House‘s genius and Grey’s Anatomy‘s uncontrollable emoting, last night’s episode saw brilliant but misunderstood™ Dr Gabriel Monroe wax lyrical about his love life and removing a section of a lady’s brain.
2.8 million viewers (an 11% share) tuned in for the second to last episode of the Leeds-based medical drama, down from the series opener of 3.4 million on 1 October.
Last Monday, BBC One aired the final episode of New Tricks a week early, after pulling the penultimate episode due to topical similarities with a deceased former employee’s alleged behaviour. It was thought this episode had no place in the upcoming schedule and would never see the light of day for some time.
Feeling that a week was plenty of time to heal old wounds and respect sensitivities, the (now) final episode of series nine went out a week late at 9pm. The episode was a boys-own adventure (no sign of Amanda Redman or Alun Armstrong), focusing on Steve returning to Glasgow with Dennis Waterman’s Gerry in tow.
While the events smacked of a spin-off set up (a Glasgow UCOS office was being initiated) an investigation in to an old murder turned a grim corner. The two London-based gumshoes uncovered details of a historical underage sex ring in a care home, bringing everyone down several notches. The surprise, final appearance of the ageing cold case detectives attracted a 27% share, with 6.8 million viewers tuning in; this was slightly lower than unusual.
Monday was a night full of surprises. Unfortunately for the UCOS team, there was a surprise competitor over on BBC Two, eager to take a slice of the middle aged demographic. A Top Gear special at 9pm saw Richard Hammond (happily now with less antagonising hair) touch, stroke and purr over James Bond’s cars, as excited as a schoolboy getting his first savings plan.
All of the sexiest stars of the British institution showed up, including the Aston Martin DB5 and the Lotus Esprit. The hour of mechaphilia and shameless plugging combined, attracted an impressive 3.5 million viewers (a 14% share) to BBC Two, the channel’s biggest hit of the day.
Monday also brought us another series finale – but this was a less sordid affair. Nigella’s last dalliance with Italian food saw her stick a finger up to her critics (the food kind of sounds Italian but feels random) by producing a desert designed to push those sensitivity buttons. The domestic devil lulled her closest friends-for-hire into a false sense of security with traditional dishes like mint lamb and risotto and then served up a dish of caramel and chocolate pasta!
The final dollop of contraffatto cooking on Nigellissima (8:30pm) brought in 2.1 million viewers and an 8% share, down 19% compared to the first episode.
Which leads us to the soapy action of earlier in the day. Emmerdale (ITV1, 7pm) continued to stalk its London rival, gaining some significant ground thanks to its 40th birthday. The Cameron-bashing continued apace last night, pulling in 7.8 million viewers.
Later down Walford way, misery glutton Carol Jackson returned to the square with the cast of the Matilda musical in tow. 8 million viewers (a 32% share) watched as Carol wasn’t best pleased that her house has been turned in to a sanctuary for counterfeit goods.
The first of two visits to Coronation Street (ITV1, 7:30pm) saw money strapped Tina receive the gift of Izzy and Gary’s embryo. The first slice of cobbled drama pulled in 9 million viewers, resulting in a 38% share and the biggest audience of the day. 8:30pm dealt with the repercussions of Sophie Webster’s losing fight with a speeding car, securing a lower audience of 8.2 million and a 33% 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.