TV Overnights: ITV’s Vera attracts the weekend’s biggest audience
The bank holiday weekend’s telly viewing extravaganza got off to a bit of a slow start on Saturday with the channels boasting the usual parade of stealthily scheduled repeats and family favourite films.
Despite the miserable weather, it seems that the nation decided to step into the rain en masse rather than sitting in to watch another Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow. Some programmes can weather just about any kind of…weather, and BBC One put its durable schedule crown jewel front and centre of Saturday evening’s line up.
While it may have seemed like nothing has changed since 1989, Casualty (8:40pm) captured Saturday’s biggest audience across all channels with 4.3 million viewers (a 21% share) tuning in to see the latest round of Holby simpletons stumble dramatically through the doors of the A&E department.
The second biggest hit of the day belonged to commercial rival ITV as it rolled out the latest instalment of its continuous cycle of Harry Potter and the Never Ending Repeats (7pm). To be fair, it was The Half-Blood Prince, the first film in the kid’s series to turn the creepy dial all the way up.
4.3 million people tuned in to see Harry learn that being a grown up is all about being broody and serious, preferably while loitering around in a darkened stone hallway. The sixth film in the series pulled in a 22% share.
Formula 1: The Belgian Grand Prix added a bit of colour to Sunday afternoon with three hours of cars-going-fast-based action. 2.9 million people stayed tuned for the entire event, with an audience share of 29% witnessing German Sebastian Vettel make his car go faster than anyone else.
If speedy car action wasn’t exciting enough for viewers, they were saved from mechanical boredom in the form of Countryfile (BBC One, 7pm), riding over the horizon like a valiant steed, ready to inject a bit for excitement into Sunday night’s viewing.
Sunday’s adventure in agricultural mayhem was a ‘best of’ episode, so you knew you were being fed 100% pure gold. 4.2 million viewers watched as Ellie Harrison tried winter surfing (edgy) while Matt Baker trotted about in the highlands looking for some dear (calming), bringing in the day’s second biggest audience and a 24% share.
The anarchy of Antiques Roadshow followed as Fiona Brice picked up 4.2 million viewers as they fell under the spell of her glad eye, resulting in a 20% share.
It was a clash of the grim and gritty later on as ITV’s third series premier of Vera (8pm) went head to head with BBC One’s new four part drama What Remains (9pm). The ITV show – starring Brenda Blethyn as yet another maverick detective – did get a head start on its two hour investigation compared to its shorter rival.
Sunday’s biggest audience, 4.5 million viewers, watched Vera (dressed as Doctor Who, above) work her magic while investigating the death of a young woman, netting a 21% share.
The first episode of What Remains, staring David Threlfall from Shameless, seemed partly inspired by the harrowing 2011 documentary Dreams of a Life and focused on the discovery of a woman’s ignored and badly decomposed body in a London flat.
4.2 million people watched as Threlfall’s detective was unable to let the deceased go (figuratively speaking of course – ew), netting a 21% share. Sunday may have been quiet but it was also a quiet success for BBC One, six of the top seven shows belonged to the broadcaster.
Finally, there was a return to normality last night as the soaps gave the nation exactly what the nation had been pining for since Friday night – localised barely scripted drama by the bucket load.
Emmerdale (ITV, 7pm) shot straight out of the trap, displaying enough velocity to beat gobby distant cousin EastEnders (BBC One, 8pm). All the murderous intrigue of the rural soap brought in 6 million viewers, while the London drama fell just behind with 5.9 million.
Of course it was Coronation Street that got all the important attention, taking up the two top spots of the day (and entire weekend but who’s counting?). The first part of the Weatherfield soap was watched by 7.7 million at 7:30pm with 7.4 million coming back an hour later.
Elsewhere, The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2013 did well at 6:30pm. No, don’t worry , Cheryl Cole’s posterior hasn’t gone and become the new insignia for the service. Instead viewers were treated to music and marches from Edinburgh Castle, bringing in an audience of 3.8 million viewers and a 22% 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.