TV Overnights: Emmerdale triumphs over EastEnders with 7m viewers
The warm and welcoming Caribbean seas pulled in Tuesday’s biggest prime time audience into its current as Death in Paradise (BBC One, 9pm) offered some respite from the British winter. The on-screen death of Jamelia may have held some sway too.
As the second series of the balmy fish-out-of-water detective show continued the writers haven’t yet reached Midsomer Murders’ level of silliness. The fifth episode in the current run saw pop star sensation Jamelia stretch credibility to breaking point by portraying a singer on a cruise ship.
An audience share of 26% watched as the mononymous general all round famous person was poisoned mid performance, easily beating the second half of ITV’s own crime drama. The light and breezy tale of murder saw 5.9 million viewers gather around the television to bask in its warm glow.
Over on BBC Two was the second part of Dancing on the Edge (9pm), cut down to just one hour from the debut episode lengthy running time. Last night the musicians got a taste for success as their growing popularity opened a lot of doors.
Unfortunately all these doors opened into the homes of white, stiff, moneyed horrors with Jacqueline Bisset starring as their leader. Audiences for the 30’s sets drama of music and seduction saw viewers fall 19% episode on episode, down to 1.7 million and an 8% share.
JR was still hanging on for dear life in the second series of Dallas (9pm) on Channel 5. The extreme Texan brand of scheming and backstabbing continued as JR and mini-me John Ross plotted to get control back from Bobby and son Christopher. The Ewing family values only managed to attract 625,000 viewers and a 3% share.
Earlier both BBC channels performed well in the 8pm slot, with BBC Two finally bringing us the second half of The Mary Berry Story. There was little scandal to be found here, no stolen moments with Paul Hollywood and certainly no sass talk. After informing us that she survived the Second World War last week, the second episode documented her marriage, rise to ‘fame’ and family tragedy.
Oddly enough the second chapter in Berry World attracted the exact same audience as the opening episode, even mirroring its share. 3 million viewers came back for another round of tea, Battenburgs and a brisk stroll down memory lane. The domestic adventurer secured BBC Two’s biggest audience of the day and once again netted a 13% share.
The dependable ratings machine that is Holby City plodded along on BBC One at 8pm, as the staff clashed heads over a suspected case of child abuse. The unrelenting and unstoppable spin-off medical drama (now in its 15th series, just to make you feel old) easily brought in the biggest share in the time slot, with 5 million viewers and a 22% share tuning in.
Over on ITV at 8pm was a repeat of Midsomer Murders in which Barnaby and Jones had to capture a headless horse that was hunting down an aristrocatic family. The schedulers must have realised there was no topping last week’s guest appearance when Martine McUrchin went head to head with an angry wheel of Wensleydale.
Last night viewers went back to the first episode of the current series, originally shown in February last year. An audience of 3 million viewers watched as the dynamic duo uncovered secrets of the powerful and toffish DeQuettevilles family, so horrendous it was genuinely thrilling to watch them get bumped off. The repeat saw a 13% share return to the scene of the crime.
Earlier on in the day the tension between a London East End gang and the Dale’s angry pitch-forked mob heated up as the schedulers at ITV made a cheeky decision, putting an hour long episode of Emmerdale (ITV, 7pm) head to head with EastEnders (BBC One, 7:30pm).
Another night on EastEnders, meant another chance to watch Max Branning get kicked out of his house. The serial mistake-maker was caught by his daughter comforting his wife (it was much more sordid than it seems) which resulted in another characteristic mouth-off. The dank streets of Walford pulled in a lowly million viewers and a 24% share.
An extended trip to the picturesque village of Emmerdale brought in the night’s biggest audience. Christenings are usually a fairly pleasant experience but when everyone in the church has more back story than The Old Testament the tension jump up a notch. 7 million viewers tuned in to see the village join together in prayer and goodwill, securing a 30% 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.