Soap clash sees EastEnders down -28% night on night
Even though Tuesday evening’s TV line-up brought a huge variety of glossy and gripping content, an ill-advised soap clash between ITV and the BBC saw both channels ultimately lose out.
Despite a flurry of popular crime shows, faux-reality TV and skilfully acted drama, yesterday’s coveted number one spot was taken by the thrilling events of the real world with BBC One’s Regional News and Weather (6:30pm). 6.3 million viewers tuned in for some factual updates, despite BBC One offering up two much stronger propositions.
After many long months of delicately handling the Linda Carter rape storyline, last night finally saw Walford’s newest matriarch take her husband’s hand and report the crime. Unfortunately for EastEnders (7:30pm) ITV aired an hour-long edition of its rural soap, with the first half conflicting directly with the latest drama from E20.
Despite starting out the week with 7.7 million viewers, the stand-off saw EastEnders‘ audience fall to 5.6 million viewers and a 24% share, representing a whopping night on night fall of -28%.
On ITV, the trial of super bitch Charity Tate Sharma Macey Dingle bagged Tuesday’s number three spot as the Dales’ biggest villain finally got her comeuppance in Emmerdale (7pm). The hour-long edition saw Charity’s campaign of murder, fraud, arson and all the other fun she’s had finally come back to haunt her.
Producers successfully managed to keep the surprise return of Rachel Breckle a secret, a rare event in today’s spoiler-filled digital world, which helped bring in an audience of 6.1 million and a 28% share.
At 9pm, Silent Witness returned for a second consecutive night with the conclusion of the latest two-part thriller. Up from Monday’s 5.9 million viewers, a 26% share tuned in to see how the grimy story of forgotten children in care panned out , netting the biggest 9pm audience.
In total 6.2 million viewers watched in hope that the forensics team would find their man, demonstrating a night in night rise of 5%, unusual for a two-part drama.
At the same time BBC Two was busy dishing out some worthy drama as Martin Freeman donned another American accent in the 1961-set The Eichmann Show (9pm). 1.2 million viewers tuned in for the tale of the first ever coverage of a Nazi war criminal, resulting in a 5% share.
Over on ITV, bleeding heart and former Lilly Savage, Paul O’Grady upgraded his doting on little puppies to full-on proper animals like elephants and rhinos. 2.6 million viewers watched as O’Grady spun tales of sad, tearful and traumatised beasts, resulting in an 11% share.
It was over to Luton on Channel 4 as the coppers of 24 Hours in Police Custody (9pm) opened up their cells for another outbreak of depressing events.1.2 million viewers watched as the old bill spent their day figuring out who was lying in a human trafficking case, resulting in a 5% share.
On Channel 5, Celebrity Big Brother continued to do slightly better than usual, once again topping the Twitter chart and netting 2.6 million viewers (an 11% share) for the broadcaster.
At the same time, there was another new reality brat-focused show on BBC Three called Excluded: Kicked Out of School at 9pm. Because what better way is there to reprimand self-obsessed and disruptive teens by rewarding them with their own reality TV show? 424,000 watched as the tiny terrors got their chance to shine, netting a 2% share.
At 8pm, trusty Holby City brought in 4.6 million viewers to BBC One, while sister channel BBC Two secured 2.4 million with the second instalment of Winterwatch.
On ITV, Alan Titchmarsh was busy rummaging through people’s rear spaces in the search for Britain’s Best Back Gardens (8pm). 2 million people joined in on the journey.
At the same time Sky Living débuted Desi Rascals (8pm), the latest fake-reality show (it’s an actual term now) as London’s Asian community got the zombifying TOWIE treatment, much to the delight of sneer enthusiasts across the land.
A massive 559,000 viewers tuned in to meet ‘a modern, dynamic and aspirational group of characters across a range of ages as they navigate their social, professional and family lives in a fast-changing community’. All the promotional material we’ve been assaulted with recently surely helped the channel secure a 0.3% share.
Which like its fabricated reality brethren, actually appeared in the top ten most tweeted about shows, despite having a minuscule audience.
Thankfully, there was an alternative to the world’s only Asian-focused structured-reality show named after lazy word play of an East End rapper. Channel 5 came to the rescue with Cats Do The Funniest Things at 8pm. Basically putting the internet on your TV screen, the clip show sucked in 1.6 million viewers and an 8% share, despite not being promoted at all.
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.
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