TV Overnights: Scott & Bailey loses viewers but still dominates the 9pm slot
Wednesday night brought another bothersome work/life balancing act for distracted crime fighting duo Scott & Bailey (ITV, 9pm), as the third series continued.
The latest episode saw the Manc duo sift through another bloody crime scene, all the while furrowing their brows and dealing with the idiotic men in their lives. Of which there seem to be many.
After last week’s flashback episode, the third part of the current run remained firmly in the present and moved the plot of Rachel Bailey’s (Suranne Jones) colourless marriage forward. 4.5 million viewers tuned in to see Bailey’s extramarital fun catch up with her, while poor old Scott decided it was time to send her husband packing.
While the northern procedural drama won the 9pm slot with a 20% share, the audience actually fell by a massive 22% since the series launched two weeks ago.
Fighting for viewers’ attention at the same time on BBC One, was a reheated portion of pandering OAP coddle, New Tricks (9pm). To counteract ITV’s sassy lady cops, the BBC offered up a repeat from the seventh series of the insanely popular cold case drama from 2010.
The aptly titled episode, It Smells of Books (lucky that’s the only smell in the UCOS department), featured the show’s original line-up, with Anne Reid popping in for evil old lady duties. Compared to Scott & Bailey, New Tricks was about as edgy as a football made out of jelly but still managed to pull in an audience of 2.8 million viewers and a 12% share.
If Wednesday evening’s viewers wanted their gruesome entertainment a little more real, then Channel 4 had the show for them. Doing away with silly scripts and poorly trained actors, 24 Hours in A&E (9pm) simply features real lives hanging in the balance, with the blood, tears and anxiety proving 100% real too.
2.6 million people settled down with a nice cup of cocoa and enjoyed such scenarios as the aftermath of a horrific road accident and the passing of an 80 year old lady. The reality show that feels far too real brought in a 12% share and Channel 4’s biggest audience of the day.
Earlier at 8pm, nerves were being destroyed as the second semi-finale of Food Glorious Food (ITV) got underway. Last night saw Carol Vordeman force the surviving contestants to up their game, making them each cook their meal for hundreds of emergency services workers. Awww, what a lovely show.
The ingredients of the show have been pinched from so many formats the taste might be a little bland, even for 8pm audiences. 2.1 million viewers tuned in to see which dish was the bestest, securing a 10% share.
Try as she might, Carol and her dazzling smile wasn’t enough to distract viewers from the oval-faced power duo on MasterChef (BBC One, 8pm). The never ending line of contestants kept on coming and as usual Gregg and John were on hand to over react, as they do. The familiar formula still captured a 8% share and 4.5 million viewers.
Earlier at 7pm, BBC Two brought us highlights of The Funeral of Baroness Thatcher but the celebrity shindig was old hat at that stage and was only watched by a small audience of 694,000 viewers.
Doing much better in the 7pm slot was the latest visit to tumultuous village, Emmerdale (ITV), as Brenda took those tentative few steps towards her brain op. 6.5 million viewers tuned in for the latest drama, securing a 33% share.
Later on Coronation Street (ITV, 7:30pm), Dev was still struggling through his tidal wave of emotion but found time to bring Sunita’s ashes on a leisurely day out to the Trafford Centre. 7.9 million viewers, Wednesday’s biggest audience, watched the latest action from Weatherfield, securing a 37% 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.