TV Overnights: BBC One’s attempt to milk one last drop of Murray goodness backfires as ITV takes 9pm slot
After Wimbledon helped the weekend’s TV audiences reach the dreamy heights of yesteryear, Monday saw summer audiences crash back down to reality.
But not to worry – just in case you didn’t quite get your fill of Andy Murray’s unoccupied personality over the last few days, BBC One was the place for you.
Not content on hijacking every news programme, paper and most of the daytime schedule, the poster boy for seasonal British optimism eventually got his own spot in the primetime line up.
The hastily cobbled together Andy Murray: The Man Behind the Racquet (BBC One, 9pm) revealed, for the first time, the real Andy Murray – the man behind the hyperbolic PR tornado. But not really.
4 million viewers tuned in to see an hour of hero worshipping, frenetically edited glory shots and inane sound bites. The revelations that Andy loves tennis, his mother and nice jumpers pulled in an 18% audience share.
Meanwhile, ITV were content to mash Long Lost Families (9pm) through the drama mincer, with real life soapy dramatic tears coming out the other end. Last night saw chemistry voids Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell pretend to care about the well-being of two people given up for adoption at birth, making sure to press all the right emotional buttons along the way (it’s like a really upmarket Jeremy Kyle).
Despite the unethical connotations, it’s a formula that people are responding to, attracting a consistent audience each week. Last night’s bucket of repressed emotions netted 4.6 million viewers and a 21% share. Not only did this beat the one-tone national hero on BBC One, but it was the most watched show in the coveted 9pm slot.
Over on Channel 4, this week’s PR extravaganza episode of Undercover Boss (9pm) was paid for by focused on a security company whose boss pretended to learn things about the common worker, netting 1.1 million viewers (a 5% share).
Channel 5 entered the fray by providing yet another documentary about Travellers – although there was a different tack on offer, compared to Channel 4.The Travellers’ Secret Cash Stash had a less favourable focus on dodgy dealings within the community.
While audience’s may be inundated with programming about ‘the walking people’ the underhanded going’s on still managed to capture the interest of 1.2 million viewers.
Last night saw TV audiences peak during the teatime period as an onslaught of soap action seemed to have more pull than a dying star. Emmerdale warmed up viewer’s suspension of disbelief at 7pm on ITV, as Rhona’s pill problems became even graver. 5.8 million people watched the mad-out-of-it vet face a day of withdrawals, securing a 35% share.
An hour later on BBC One there was another dose of trouble and strife for the long suffering EastEnders (7:30pm). An audience of 6.4 million viewers paid the latest visit to an alternative universe’s version of E20, securing a 32% share and the channel’s biggest best performing programme.
But, as always, in the end Weatherfield cast its spell over the biggest audience of the day. The first episode at 7:30pm saw David’s demented plot for revenge escalate as his brother was throwing a ‘crazy’ student night in his Bistro.
Despite kidnapping the extras from Hollyoaks, the amazingly subdued background students failed to convince anyone watching that an exciting night was happening before our eyes.
Even a police drugs raid failed to liven things up. As usual, the audience was duly loyal with 7.4 million viewers watching the first slice of Coronation Street, followed by 7.3 million tuning in an hour later at 8:30pm.
The long running soap took the two top spots on Monday night as well as keeping a healthy distance ahead of its rivals.
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.