TV Overnights: Death in Paradise’s final stab grabs 6m for BBC One
Tuesday evening brought a fresh bout of soap action as Emmerdale got things under way at 7pm. Last night’s entertainment revolved around little old lady Edna’s life hanging in the balance after a dramatic dizzy spell.
The resident Mrs Mangle-type character fell down while alone at home while her pet dog Tootsie proved completely useless, sniffing and whimpering when he should have been seeking help.
Luckily one of the human characters was on hand to save the day, just in the nick of time. 6.7 million viewers watched as Jimmy King swept Edna up in his arms, swinging from the crumbling building and securing a 31% share.
Straight afterwards on BBC One, Phil Mitchell was in a similar predicament. Through no fault of his own Walford’s loveable rogue received a fist in the face and was left bleeding to death in The Arches.
Last night’s EastEnders saw Phil dramatically drag himself to the Queen Vic to make one of those dramatic entrances everyone is now accustomed too. Luckily a wronged Sharon was on hand to help mend her soulmate, signalling that the planets are indeed aligning and a reunion for the pair must surely be on the cards.
7.6 million viewers caught up with the latest injection of the hard hitting E20-branded entertainment, resulting in a 34% share and the biggest audience of the entire day.
At the same time on ITV was the latest match in Live FA Cup Football (8pm). The game between Everton and Oldham Athletic didn’t drastically affect the soap’s ratings, as it could only gather an audience of 2.9 million viewers for the entire coverage. A 13% share watched as Everton secured their home game with a 3-1 victory.
8pm also saw Dr Christian continue to dominate your TV screen by pumping out his uncomfortable presence all across Channel 4’s schedules. The station’s talisman was back after last night’s Embarrassing Bodies with the equally inadequate Supersize v Superskinny.
Last night’s dive into the sea of nonsense once again saw a fatty and a skinny swap diets, all at the manipulative hands of the helpful Doctor. The sound nutritional thinking captured an audience of 1.7 million viewers and a 7% share.
Channel 4 moved into the prime time realm with Secrets of the Pickpockets (9pm), a one-off documentary that brutally cracked open the skull of dickensesque street urchins to uncover the mysteries of their trade skills. Not literally though, which is kind of a missed opportunity.
The investigative piece highlighted the smoke and mirror tricks of the trade that are put to daily use in London’s West End, securing Channel 4’s biggest audience of the day with 2.4 million viewers and a 10% share.
Or how about spending your evening watching miserable commuters curse the train networks on an isolated platform on a bleak winter’s morn? Sounds fun doesn’t it? Throughout the chaos and shared infectious misery, narrator Kevin ‘Inspector Lewis’ Whatley was on hand to keep the stress levels down.
The Railway: Keeping Britain on Track (BBC Two, 9pm) was like a limp apologetic letter from an ex which you still vehemently hate. In fairness, the third episode in the redundant series didn’t shy away from the seething hatred dispensed by weary customers being left stranded by service disruptions.
Which begs the question – is this series aimed at rail enthusiasts or masochists? 1.7 million viewers braved the images of miserable faces being squeezed onto overcrowded trains, resulting in a 7% share.
Unsurprisingly, it was the finale of Death in Paradise‘s second series that secured the biggest audience in the 9pm slot. The BBC’s gentile, charming and surprising popular series about brutal homicide wrapped up its second series in a fitting cartoonish manner.
Ben Millar plays DI Poole, a Met officer at odds in his beautiful Caribbean island setting. The caricature of the bumbling xenophobic cranky Englishman might have been borderline offensive if it all wasn’t so tediously tame.
The location would be perfect if it wasn’t for all the irritating expats deadening each other each week. Last night saw the usual assortment of semi-familiar faces put on the red herring costumes, with DI Poole accusing all the suspects of involvement. Well, it was the last episode – they really pulled out all the stops.
But last night it wasn’t all about murder – the writers branched out into the dangerous world of ‘character development’ as Poole and DS Camille flirted.
Or at least that’s what viewers assumed was happening – it was all very preposterous and relied on a bigger suspension of disbelief than an entire series of The Mighty Boosh. 6 million viewers tuned in for the eighth episode in the current run, resulting in a 25% share.
And finally, 10pm brought the beginning of the end for the residents of the Chatsworth Estate as the 11th series of Shameless got under way. Despite the promise of departed characters returning, the once invigorating drama now feels like a late night equivalent of Brookside. But with less warmth and charm.
1.5 million viewers tuned in to confirm that, yes, it should have been cancelled around five series ago.
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.