BBC’s Strictly dominates over ITV’s I’m a Celeb and X Factor
Saturday night’s all-star prime time entertainment officially kicked off at 7pm on BBC One as Strictly Come Dancing rolled out more cheesy routines and big Bollywood numbers in an attempt to keep the restless masses amused.
The eleventh week of the current series saw the professionals kick things off with a typical over-the-top collective routine, with a very loose ‘around the world theme’ helping secure Saturday’s biggest audience.
A peak audience of 10.3 million viewers tuned in to find out that Casualty‘s Sunetra Sarker and Heat magazine’s main muse Mark Wright were both in danger of leaving, leading to an average audience of 9.5 million viewers (a 42% share) for the one hour and 15 minutes show.
Thankfully theme-free was Saturday’s episode of The X Factor (ITV), meaning that the surviving acts were free to massacre random songs without the difficult guise of a connecting theme.
The 8pm start time meant that there was a fifteen minute clash with BBC’s popular dancing show, but the karaoke spectacular wasn’t that badly affected.
After the previous week’s double elimination and the added pressure of moving along to the grand finale, all five remaining acts gave it their best shot on ‘jukebox week’ but that wasn’t enough to even nab the day’s second biggest show.
The nearer to the end Cowell’s marketing machine reaches, the more thinly the drama is spread out with the ever decreasing cast hamming it up for the nation’s pity.
An average audience of 7.5 million viewers tuned in for the one hour and 45 minutes experience as each act offered up two songs, leading to a 33% share.
ITV’s fortunes improved slightly though, with I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! (9:45pm) nabbing Saturday’s second place. 7.7 million viewers and a 38% share tuned in for the hour’s worth of bug-infested camp drama.
Earlier in the day, BBC One’s family friendly drama, Atlantis continued at 8:15pm. Like Game of Thrones but without the nudity, blood or other bodily fluids, the latest episode of the second series secured 3.8 million viewers and a 17% share.
Afterwards, Casualty did a little better with 3.9 million tuning in to see Sunetra Sarker swap the sequinned dresses for bloodied scrubs, resulting in a 17% share.
There was a case of déjà vu on Sunday evening as nearly all of Saturday’s shows came back for a second stab at success, albeit in mostly shorter forms.
Countryfile (BBC One, 6:15pm) was the first of Sunday’s big hitters out of the bag, with the exciting 1292nd episode seeing Adam Henson messing about with DNA and horses again, securing an audience of 6.6 million viewers and a 32% share.
The results of Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One) were up next at 7:15pm, with the 45 minute show seeing Sunetra Sarker’s appreciation of her day job increasing. The weekend’s biggest audience watched as Sarker was sent out of the competition, netting 9.8 million viewers and a 41% share.
Avoiding another clash was The X Factor Results (8pm) over on ITV, as all 64 members of superfluous boy band Stereo Kicks were giving their marching orders, single handedly sending the nation’s youth unemployment figures through the roof.
7.8 million viewers (presumably being half made up of hysterical and uncontrollable teens) tuned in for the darkest day yet, resulting in a 36% share.
At the same time on BBC One – and a completely different universe away – was Antiques Roadshow (8pm) which pulled in 5.3 million viewers and a 21% share.
Over on BBC Two, Sue Perkins was still enjoying her time away from the white tent of anxiety as she continued her trip down the Mekong on…er, The Mekong River with Sue Perkins (8pm). The final leg of the amazing adventure was watched by 2.2 million viewers and a 9% share.
At 9pm on BBC One, the Michael Palin-starring creepfest that is Remember Me continued to impress, although fell from last week’s 5.3 million. Last night saw Palin’s haunted pensioner escape from his care home in order to track down the origin of his nightmares, securing 4.3 million viewers and a 17% share along the way.
At the same time on Channel 4, Carrie Mathison got herself together after last week’s hallucinogenic episode, with another tense episode of Homeland (9pm). A little over one million viewers tuned in last night to find out what surprises lay in store, resulting in a 4% share.
For the second night in a row, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! (ITV, 9pm) bagged the day’s second biggest audience, bringing in 9 million viewers and a 36% 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. 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.
To get all the latest MediaTel Newsline updates follow us on Twitter.