EastEnders’ double dose of joy bags Thurs top two spots
There was a bit of a shake up to the soap line-up last night with BBC One taking a page out of ITV’s tactical playbook, and inadvertently providing last night’s viewers with a solid two hours of high emotions and plenty of shouting.
Not only were viewers treated to the usual double helping of rural charm in Emmerdale on ITV but fans of downtrodden ‘everyday’ East End folk were also presented with two exhilaratingly cheery episodes revolving around the funeral of a heroin addict.
Emmerdale got the night’s drama roller-coaster underway at 7pm as little Belle Dingle struggled with the usual teenage issues – murder, police investigations, all-consuming guilt – with the first episode attracting an audience of 5.9 million and a 30% share.
The first episode of EastEnders went out at 7:30pm over on BBC One as poor old Dot Cotton was put through the emotional mill one last time by wayward son Nick. To be fair, most days in Albert Square are far from joyous but watching Dot’s eternal suffering reach new levels of despair really pushed the misery-stuffed envelope.
An audience of 6.7 million viewers – Thursday’s biggest audience – watched as the residents of Walford joined together to bid good riddance to Nick Cotton once and for all, resulting in a 33% share.
It was time to head back up in the Yorkshire Dales at 8pm as Emmerdale‘s audience fell to 5.3 million viewers. A 25% share watched as Belle Dingle faced her demons and confessed to killing her BFF in a row over a twelve year old boy.
The unrelenting tragedy didn’t stop there as the ray of sunshine that is EastEnders was back on viewers’ screens at 8:30pm. As expected, there was a drop in popularity but an audience of 6.3 million tuned in to see Nick’s wake in the Queen Vic go badly wrong (seriously, the place would be deemed cursed and burned to the ground in real life).
An audience share of 29% watched as Dot’s troubles continued as she got a sneaking suspicion the person she just buried wasn’t her son – just because the sadness is never allowed to stop in E20. The second helping of weathered, pale, grey, troubled faces was the second biggest hit of the day, proving it’s not just ITV that can clog up the schedule with audience-baiting misfortune.
Peppered throughout all that sadness were a few comparatively cheerful options for those less addicted to depressing scenarios. Room 101 (BBC One) – which manages to feel genuinely funny when it is sandwiched in-between EastEnders – brought in 3.6 million viewers.
For those who like to get upset while eating their dinner, there was The Truth About Immigration at 7:30pm on ITV. Despite the truth being more of an abstract concept, 2.7 million viewers tuned in in order to know what to think.
Later at 9pm, proven schedule-clutterer MasterChef (BBC One) was already back with its second episode as the tenth series’ relentless schedule continued apace. For a second night in a row the culinary cook-off managed to secure the 9pm slot for BBC One, with 4.9 million viewers (a 21% share) tuning in for what was basically a repeat of the previous night’s show.
Over on BBC Two was the final part of the Bill Nighy-starring Worricker Trilogy. It must have come as some relief for fans as they originally had to wait three whole years for last week’s sequel to Page Eight, entitled Turks & Caicos (which bagged 2.3 million viewers).
Fortunately the concluding part of the trilogy was broadcast just one week later – 1.6 million viewers tuned in to see Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes pop up in Salting the Battlefield (9pm), resulting in an 8% share.
ITV’s prime time offering was the second part of Dangerous Dogs (9pm), a documentary looking at the variety of oxygen deprived owners of cuddly weapons.
The miserable hour of television saw family pets being destroyed and police attempting to prevent terminally stupid dog owners from repeating their past mistakes. 2.2 million viewers tuned in to lose their faith in humanity, resulting in a 10% share.
There was a bit of a change of pace over on Channel 4 with Mayday: The Passenger Who Landed a Plane (9pm) – the story of a 77 year-old who had to land a plane despite having absolutely no experience.
Don’t get too excited – it wasn’t a passenger jet or anything. Like one of those filler segments from I Shouldn’t Be Alive but stretched out to an entire hour. 1.5 million people went along for the hair-raising ride, resulting in Channel 4’s biggest audience of the day and a 7% share.
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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. Overnight data supplied by TRP are based on 15 minute slot averages. This may differ from tape checked figures, which are based on a programme’s actual start and end time.